Those Left Behind
by mcdorfman
Summary: The Reapers have won. The cultures of their cycle are doomed. And as Liara T'Soni recalls the past, she prepares for the future. Her own, and for the civilisations of the next cycle. Through her work, there may be hope for them, a final gift from those left behind. Second rewrite. Rated M for language and violence. F/F. OC.
1. Her Name in the Stars

_Author's Note: Hello there. It's been a while since I've left anything on this website. Sorry about that. I'm sure that anyone who read my work before would have read this before, or rather the** previous** incarnation of this story. Yep, I have rewritten this bad boy again! So yeah, anyone who has read this story before may notice a few differences, but for those who have recently joined us, here's a list of the changes I have made:_

**_* Made the story longer._**

**_* Divided the story into chapters._**

**_* Changed the fate of a certain character._**

**_* Changed the appearance of other certain characters. (Readers of the old work'll know what I'm talking about...hopefully)._**

_So anyway, I shall leave you with Those Left Behind, version 3.0! I hope you enjoy reading it, and please...feel free to leave feedback if you're so inclined. Oh, and anything that's Bioware's, is Bioware's. Everything else is mine. Capisce?_

* * *

_**Those Left Behind.**_

_A Mass Effect fanfiction by mcdorfman._

**Chapter One: Her Name in the Stars.**

"_If you are hearing this…then there is still hope. Hope that you can avoid the same mistakes we made. We fought the Reapers, but we failed to stop them. We did everything we could. We built the Crucible, but it did not work. We fought as a united galaxy, but it wasn't enough. I only hope the information in this capsule is enough to help you before it's too late. My name is Dr. Liara T'Soni. Herein lies the recounting of our war with the Reapers."_

**Alliance Frigate: SSV Normandy SR-2, 2186CE.**

Liara hoped that Shepard would like this project of hers. It has been a little something she had been working on for some time now, in the few and far-between opportunities she had when she was not researching Protheans, helping the Crucible, organising her agents as the Shadow Broker, or generally being shot at by Cerberus or the Reapers. As she stood before the door to Shepard's cabin, collecting her thoughts on what to say, she noted how defeatist it might have seemed to even propose an undertaking such as this.

Her time capsule.

Her Archives.

And then she reminded herself that victory wasn't assured in this war, not even with Commander Shepard. It didn't hurt to at least prepare for that dread outcome of annihilation.

Shepard would understand.

With a deep breath, Liara knocked delicately on Shepard's door. Moments later, the entrance to Shepard's cabin slid open with a slight hiss, revealing the occupant within, smiling at the asari.

"Come on in," said Commander Shepard with a gesture of her hand, beckoning Liara inside, and seizing the opportunity to give her a gentle kiss as soon as she was close enough. The asari leaned lightly into the kiss, savouring the contact with her beloved soldier. These moments were painfully few, and were decreasing rapidly every day the Reapers advanced on another world. Even though they both lived and worked on the same ship, within a deck of each other, even though they stood side by side together, it was clear to both of them that they missed each other, being like this.

Maybe after…

_Every day after_, thought Liara, remembering the last time they were on the Citadel, dancing with one another.

"Thank you," breathed the asari, moving past the Commander and making her way to Shepard's coffee table. "Could we sit?" she asked as she placed the reason she was here down atop of it. It was a small, black box, but what it contained within could mean all the difference should they lose this war.

Shepard took a seat on the nearby couch as she watched her lover kneel on her floor, her fingers danced across the haptic interface which had materialised over Liara's black box. The Commander was about to inquire but it seemed the asari decided to answer her unspoken question.

"I've been thinking about the knowledge we've been gathering on the Reapers," the asari began to explain, "and how easily it could be lost again. So, I put a plan in motion to preserve things for the future."

"What is it?" Shepard asked as the box opened up, revealing a holo-emitter. The emitter powered up, showing the pair a myriad selection images, blueprints of the Crucible, images of turians and the other cultures. It also showed them images of the Reapers, as well as files containing the information gathered on them so far; how to fight them, and how to kill them.

"It's a record of the galaxy," Liara answered, looking to her lover, "information on the Reapers, relays, different cultures, and blueprints of the Crucible." The asari hesitated for a few moments, as if she were shy about continuing with her explanation. "But…there was one entry I'd like your opinion on," she finished with a slight blush.

"What's that?" Shepard noticed the blush on the asari's face and noted to herself how cute it looked on her. But she knew this was a serious matter.

Liara keyed in a command on her Archives, and the holo-emitter flashed to life once more, showing the pair an image of Commander Shepard herself, saluting them in blue miniature.

"Your own," Liara stood and looked toward her soldier, glad that she had gotten the admission off her chest. She held Shepard's gaze with equal parts love and reverence for such a talented warrior such as her, for such a good and wonderful person. One who didn't deserve the burden that was thrust upon her shoulders, but stepped up to the call without complaint, for the good of the galaxy and everyone who stood beside her.

"I'd be honoured to have your input," Liara said, giving Shepard a brief smile. "How would you like history to remember you?"

Shepard sat back, absorbing the asari's words as she listened to them. "Fifty-thousand years is a long time for a computer to sit around," she noted. "You're sure it'll last?"

Liara gave her a short laugh as the placed her hands across her hips. "Please," she replied, almost indignantly, "I was an archaeologist. I know what I'm doing. I'm encasing these records in time capsules, and seeding them across multiple planets." The asari turned her head to regard her work, "And while it's not fool-proof, the VI I'm installing will have every translation and linguistics program I could find."

"So…it's an information guide, like Vigil on Ilos?"

"Yes. I've been preparing it for some time."

"_And it will be a privilege to guide the future discoverers of these records_," chirped Glyph happily as it emerged from the box. Shepard raised her eyebrow at the appearance of Liara's little helper drone, the VI that has been of assistance to Liara as the Shadow Broker, and of her predecessor.

"Glyph?" she said, puzzled.

"Not quite," replied Liara with a chuckle. "This is only a copy of the original VI."

"Of course it is," said Shepard, rubbing the back of her head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"_Have you decided what you would like Doctor T'Soni to write in your entry, Commander Shepard_?" enquired the little blue orb floating within the time capsule.

Shepard was quiet for some time, thinking it over in her head. This was obviously very important to Liara, a question she felt only Commander Shepard could answer. How does she want history to remember her? Personally, she would be content with just the facts of her life. She'd want Liara to be honest about her. Good or bad, Shepard was more than happy to let history to be her judge. But was telling the future only the facts enough to tell the entire story of her life? The choices she made, the paths she took, everything which turns the facts into anything but? The friends she made, the enemies she killed, the love of her life…all the things that made her more than Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel, the things that made her Jennifer Shepard, the person. No, she decided, the facts weren't enough to cover her story. Far from it.

And Liara was wrong. This was not a question only Commander Shepard could answer.

"You know me well enough to fill in the blanks, Liara," she finally told her lover.

"Are you sure?" the asari ventured awkwardly, uncomfortable with the prospect of being Shepard's autobiographer, as it were.

"Yeah, I'd like it to be your call."

"Alright," Liara wondered where to begin. _How_ to begin. Obviously she did not want the entry to sound like something out of a diary, with nothing but breathless passages of her soldier's heroics. Although there_ was_ some appeal to writing the exploits of Commander Shepard as some kind of legend. Any civilisation that came after them would still need heroes, after all. Even ancient alien ones. But there was one path before the asari which had an even greater appeal than the legend of Commander Shepard; the honest truth about her.

"I'll start by saying that Commander Jennifer Shepard was born on Earth, and fought harder than anyone else for her homeworld," she began, pacing back and forth as the words left her. "Shepard could handle any weapon in the galaxy. The Alliance never saw a deadlier Soldier."

Shepard watched the miniature version of herself cross her hands behind her back as Liara spoke. "She was a fighter and a leader," said the asari, reverently, "one who made peace where she could, who knew when to be persuasive and when to apply pressure." The asari shifted her gaze from her Archives to her soldier, the love she had for her radiated from her bright blue eyes.

"And it was a privilege to know her," she finished. _To fall in love with her._

Shepard gave her a short laugh. "You writing anything I can't live up to?" she asked her.

"I can't help myself," Liara smiled as she took a seat beside Shepard, leaning into her as her soldier wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're a good woman, Shepard."

The Commander leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "You've been there for me too, Liara," she told her, tightening her hold on the asari.

"No, I haven't," replied Liara, looking down as if an old shame had come back to the surface. She should have been there for Shepard when she and Cerberus had gone after the Collectors…when she bought the galaxy some time, by destroying a Mass Relay and that batarian colony along with the 300,000 lives that time had cost.

She should have been there when they took her into custody, a convenient scapegoat to use against the batarians' threats of war.

"I wish I could have joined you, back on Illium."

Shepard brought up her other hand and turned Liara's face to meet with hers. "You made up for it," she told her, pressing her lips against hers with great comfort.

"Well…" Liara said as they broke away, giving her soldier a little smile, feeling much better about herself, now. "I suppose I did just write your name in the stars."

* * *

**Planet Elpida, 2197 CE**. **Eleven years into the Reaper War.**

It was not how this was meant to be. This was meant to be the time when all the races of the galaxy would look back on the coming of the Reapers and celebrate their destruction, their own survival, and the deeds and sacrifices of those who made their victory happen. This was meant to be the time of peace and happiness that all life was hoping to see in their future, one without the threat of the machines who threatened them.

This was far from how it was meant to be.

Because what was supposed to be their final victory over them, did it instead become their most crushing defeat.

Ultimately, the Reapers have won.

All that was left for the races still alive was to fight or to die, as if fighting made all the difference.

But the work the crew of the Normandy was doing, and has been for the past five years…_that _may make all the difference.

Elpida, a barren, lifeless rock in a system close to asari space was perfect for the Normandy crew to set up one of Liara's Archives. It was a planet which had no strategic value to either side, had few resources to exploit, and what was there was hard to access according to the Normandy's scans, however, the nearest planet in the system was home to a primitive species of reptilomammals; a likely candidate for one of the galaxy's future powers.

Liara hoped they would take advantage of what they leave behind.

"_If you are hearing this…then there is still hope,_" said the holographic image of Liara playing from the black box which held so much for the future._ "Hope that you can avoid the same mistakes we made. We fought the Reapers…"_

"_Looks like the place checks out just fine, Doc_," informed Major James Vega over the comm as Liara watched her message play through her Archives as members of the Normandy crew made the finishing touches on the device's installation, checking and re-checking everything to ensure the Archive's survival for the next cycle; seals, shielding, the chamber's structural soundness. It would not do for the next generation to find her work barely functional, or worse, non-functional. If anything, it would be embarrassing to her.

'Doomsday-proofing,' Liara had once heard one of the crewmen describe their mission. It was rather inaccurate if she thought so herself. 'Doomsday' – as the humans called it – is already here, and shall be for centuries to come, until every man, woman, and child of this cycle's civilisations are gone. The quarians are gone, and the batarians are gone, as are the elcor and drell. The hanar won't last long, either. It was only a matter of time until the very names of those who remain: Asari, Turian, Krogan, Salarian, Human…and all else becomes little more than relics too faded for those who came after them to fully understand. Like the protheans who came before them. Like the inusannon who came before the protheans. Like those who came before since the very birth of those abominations.

Not if she can help it.

This was not 'Doomsday-proofing'. Instead, she prefers to call her Archives a torch of hope they will fling into the darkness of time, to give whoever finds them the chance – however slim – to achieve what this cycle could not: an end, once and for all.

A final gift from those this galaxy has left behind.

"Keep checking, James," she replied, omni-tool at the ready to take readings of the black box before her, connected to wires and computers, all designed to survive extended periods of time without maintenance. They have worked and sacrificed so much for this fifty-thousand year-long mission to fail. For the countless billions of lives lost to be for nothing.

For_ Shepard's _life to be for nothing.

"We cannot make any mistakes," she continued, still taking readings of the Archives. "If there is so much as a tiny crack in the structure, this chamber will eventually become a ruin, and Goddess knows what will happen to our work then."

"_I know, but_…"

Liara felt a three-fingered hand grasp her wrist, pulling it toward a scarred, turian face. "But nothing, James," Garrus said, speaking into Liara's comm. "Liara knows her stuff, so we'll keep working on this until we get it perfect. Come on, Vega, you should know the drill by now, we've been going at this for years."

They heard a tired sigh from the other side. "_Copy that, Primarch_," said James. "_We'll keep working. Vega out_."

Garrus turned his head to see his old friend, and Liara did the same. Garrus Vakarian - _Primarch_ Vakarian, now - was the same old turian, even after all these years. A little older, perhaps, and a little wiser, but he didn't lose that spark, that dry turian sense of humour that she could see in his eyes, sometimes. Garrus might even be the only one of the original crew who had not changed in some way. _Barring EDI, of course_, Liara thought, smiling slightly toward the turian.

"You look tired," he commented as he released the asari's arm, his sharp turian eyes not missing a thing. Indeed, Liara was tired. These chambers were a gruelling task to undertake, not only to construct, given the allied fleet's lack of resources, but also to preserve them for the fifty-thousand years of silence that awaited them. But that was not what Garrus meant. Yes. Liara was tired. Tired of this war, tired of seeing her friends lose their lives in some horrific fashion. Tired of not seeing Shepard's face every morning when she opens her eyes.

_Why did she have to die?_

Why did any of them have to die? Since the start of this war, Liara had seen so many of her friends lose their lives to these machines. Friends she fought and bled with: Tali, Wrex, Kaidan, Ashley…even _friends _of friends, people she barely knew such as Jacob, Samara and Miranda; Liara felt their losses just as keenly as if she had known them on a deeper level.

Because Garrus knew them on such a level, as had Shepard.

Her mind wandered to the party her soldier had thrown in Anderson's apartment on the Citadel. That night was wonderful, an excuse to let one's hair down – so to speak – and not worry about the war. They drank and danced to the music, played games and embarrassed themselves, and she was certain she had spied Garrus and the mercenary Zaeed Massani try and weaponise Shepard's furniture.

And when Shepard had stolen her away when nobody was looking…

"_No matter what happens_," her mind's eye conjured the image of Commander Shepard, in London, and their final moments together. "_You mean everything to me, Liara. You always will_."

"I am, Garrus," she told him, shaking her head from the pleasant memory of better days, and of worse days. They didn't serve her in what she had to do. "I'd like nothing more than to collapse onto my bed, right now, and sleep away the next hundred years."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," she nodded. "This is the last of my time capsules, Garrus. After this task is complete, I intend to take my daughter and find some place very far away from the war, and live out the rest of our lives there. Alone, without any Reapers to worry about."

"'In peace and happiness', huh?" Garrus smiled, at least as much as a turian _can_ smile. He's been hearing this from her ever since her daughter was born. Truthfully, Garrus would prefer she had stayed on to help. Though her power base as the Shadow Broker was greatly diminished, she was still a valuable asset in intelligence gathering. And there was always something the fleet needed, something the Reapers hadn't gotten to yet. But was that fair on the kid? On _Shepard's_ kid? No, it wasn't. If anyone deserved to live without any fear of the Reapers, if only for a little while, it was that little girl. Her mom and dad earned that for her.

"I know, Liara. And I won't convince you to stay. Spirits know everyone else has."

"Thank you, Garrus," Liara brushed a gentle arm against the turian's shoulder. "You're one of the finest men I have had the privilege to know."

Garrus chuckled. "Remember that when you finally find some deep dark hole to hide in," he said good-naturedly, placing a hand on the asari's shoulder, "especially when the rest of us'll be fighting Reapers for the rest of our lives. All twenty seconds of it."

Liara laughed the first genuine laugh the asari had had in a long time.

"Come with me?" she asked him. Garrus' eyes widened at the offer; never had she offered before, it was always about her and her daughter, and a part of him wanted to take her up on it, but…

"I don't think so, Liara," the turian shook his scarred head. "I want to stay and fight, if it's all the same."

"I understand." Garrus was never one to walk away from a fight.

"Sure, all we're doing to the Reapers now is being sore losers," the turian continued, "but I remember a certain human Spectre's words. 'We fight or we die.' We're all gonna die anyway, might as well take as many of those bastards with us so the next guys'll have an easier time."

Liara made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat. Perhaps fighting did make all the difference in the end. Perhaps it was better to die than to be killed. But this was the end of the road for her. As soon as she finds somewhere safe, she is gone, leaving what remained of her friends to die. She wondered if they thought her to be a coward, for leaving them like this. Garrus certainly didn't, but James? EDI? Joker?

She didn't want to think about that, lest it weakened her resolve to leave, for her daughters sake, if not her own. But at least she will leave them with one, final contribution.

At least she had written their names in the stars.

At least she had written _her _name.


	2. To Never See Her Again

**Chapter Two: To Never See Her Again.**

**Commander Shepard's cabin, SSV Normandy. 2186 CE. Before the assault on Cronos Station.**

"I wondered where you were," began Liara as she descended the stairs inside Commander Shepard's personal cabin, watching her lover fondly as she sat quietly on her bed, playing idly with the helmet in her hands.

Shepard looked up from her inspection and smiled warmly at the asari, genuinely happy to see her. "EDI didn't tell you?" she asked her.

Liara smirked a little before placing her hands against her hips. "She respects your privacy. Not like me," she teased, and then nodded toward the helmet in Shepard's hands. "What are you doing?" she asked.

She watched as Shepard rose from her bed, taking a few steps before tossing her helmet to her lover. "Thought I heard the casing crack during that last fight," she explained before taking a seat back down on the edge of the bed and quietly adding, "Bullet must have just grazed me."

Liara watched her for a few precious seconds, noting the nonchalant way Shepard had spoken those last words. "Do you feel ready, Shepard?" she asked her, knowing full well how little interest Shepard held in how she herself felt about the war. She was always so concerned in helping her crew through their problems no matter how irrelevant they were to the war effort. Her soldier wanted them in their prime. Liara often wondered if being a Spectre meant being a_ therapist _as much as it meant being a warrior, but maybe that was just Shepard, a woman who cared more about those under her command than she did herself. It was an admirable trait in a leader, but it also meant that there was no one to help her with her own problems.

They were getting to her. Liara knew that. And they were breaking her down.

Shepard's smile faded, leaving behind her true feelings on the subject which her lover had brought up, those feelings of utter fatigue. "You first," she told her, looking up to Liara and fixing her gaze on the asari.

The asari gave her a soft laugh. "Very fair," she told her. After all, it was just like Shepard to try and shift the conversation away from her. Just like her to focus more on the wellbeing of her crew. Just like her to be a leader, but Liara did not want the leader.

Liara paused before she said anything, getting her thoughts together. Was she ready? Did she feel ready? No. The truth of it was she was scared out of her mind. But Shepard needed her strength, now. She needed her love, her attention. She needed Liara.

"What I want most is for this war to end, while there is a galaxy left to save," she began, playing with Shepard's helmet, fingers tracing the scratches and scuffmarks and signs of repair which told the tale of its owner's dangerous life. "And everyone is counting on you to do that for us," sympathy and sadness filled the asari's eyes as she watched Shepard take in her words. What she wouldn't give for it to be someone else who had to bear this burden. "It must be overwhelming," she said.

Shepard nodded in agreement. "How do you get ready for something like this?" she asked Liara, her voice was soft, gone was the confidence she radiated in public, gone was the soldier, gone was Commander Shepard and now, what remained, was just Jennifer.

_"_You cajole, and threaten, and make tremendous sacrifices. Until the galaxy realises they have someone worth following," Liara answered, holding Shepard's gaze as she moved toward the bed to take a seat by her side. Shepard looked away, leaning back on her arms, her expression downcast. Oh, Shepard... Liara thought as she placed Shepard's helmet on the floor and sat closer beside her lover on the bed, meeting her soldier's eyes again, projecting the truth and comfort of her words.

Shepard breathed out deeply, turning her head toward Liara and holding her gaze with hope in her eyes. "You think so?" she asked her softly.

"There's no doubt in my mind," answered the asari, certain and unwavering in her answer as she took Shepard's hand, feeling the warmth in such contact. Liara smiled as the Commander grasped her hand and held on tightly, never wanting to let go. They looked up at the stars through the window above them, not saying a single word, just enjoying the moment while it lasted.

"It would be easy for a single ship to get lost up there, wouldn't it?" Liara commented softly, turning her gaze from the passing stars beyond the flickering blue flames which were the ship's mass effect field, until her eyes met with Shepard's own.

"Yeah..." answered Shepard quietly, stroking her thumb gently over the back of Liara's gloved hand. "It would."

"To find someplace very far away...where you could spend the rest of your life in peace…and happiness." Liara hoped that surely somewhere, out there in that vast stretch of darkness studded with all those bright lights, the near-infinite number of possibilities, there was a place the Reapers wouldn't touch. Some small, uninhabited planet they would overlook. Somewhere safe.

Shepard knew exactly what Liara wanted, for it was what she wanted also. A life of peace and happiness. A life with her. No fear, no danger, no possibility of galactic annihilation. Just Liara…and their little blue children.

Liara smiled as the Commander pressed a tender, loving kiss to her cheek, watching as the human sat slowly up.

"Right now, there's no place I'd rather be," she told the asari.

Liara sat up too, smiling gently as she brought her other hand to gently grip the Commander's thigh.

"Neither would I," she told her, the look Shepard gave her as she leaned in toward her sent shivers down Liara's spine. She closed her eyes as Shepard's lips found hers, conveying warmth and gentleness through the touch. When the kiss ended, she rested her forehead happily against Shepard's for a moment, and then pulled back just a little to gaze at her lovingly.

"I love you, Shepard," she whispered to her, her eyes shone with emotion.

"I love you too, Liara," came Shepard's gentle reply.

Liara's heart skipped several beats as she heard those three simple words, as it had every other time she heard her soldier tell her. I love you. The asari slid her hands around Shepard's waist, her pulse racing at the feel of the toned, well defined physique of her beloved, the softness of her skin and the hardness of the muscles underneath, and she looked deeply into her beautiful eyes as she leaned in for another kiss.

"Show me," Liara whispered.

And with that gentle request, Shepard pressed her lips deeply against hers. Holding tightly to the woman she loved with all her strength and never wanting to let go. They fell into the bed, silently pulling away their clothes while never releasing their hold on one another. A more difficult feat than it seemed, but the warm feel of naked flesh was their reward for doing so.

Shepard covered Liara's body with her own, planting little kisses over her skin as she whispered sweet little nothings in her ear. Liara gently caressed as she encouraged Shepard's exploration of her body, shivering as she felt Shepard's lips make their presence known against the base of her neck. Her eyes blackened as Shepard's hand gently gripped her thigh, caressing as her lips blazed a trail from her neck down to her chest, between her breasts, over her stomach, until she had reached her destination.

* * *

Shepard awoke with a gasp, remembering in every detail the nightmare which awaited her in her sleep. How could she not? She had been having the same nightmare ever since she left Earth, all those months ago. Each dream differed slightly, but the core of what she dreams remained the same. She's chasing a little boy – couldn't have been more than six, or seven – through a dead forest. The same child she met during her escape from the homeworld. The one she couldn't help. And in the air, she could hear the voices of those who gave their lives in their struggle to stop the Reapers: Ashley, Thane, and Mordin…even Legion. Good friends of hers who died so that those who lived had a chance to win. And at the end of her dreams, when Shepard reaches the little boy she left behind on Earth, she is forced every time to watch him burn.

But this dream was different. This time he burned in her arms. This time she burned with him.

"You can't sleep?" asked a voice beside her. It was Liara. Asari. Archaeologist. Shadow Broker. And also the one woman Commander Shepard has ever loved. Memories of the night before flashed in Shepard's mind. Memories of Liara come to comfort her when the stress of this war threatened to break her down. Memories of their lovemaking, those rare moments of peace she craved in Liara's arms, where she could say to herself that the war be damned.

"I love you, Shepard," Liara declared that night, Shepard treasured those words.

"I love you too, Liara."

And now here they were, holding each other in the darkness of Shepard's quarters, stretching this peace for as long as they could. But like all things, it was not to last. It was time.

"Shepard?" Liara said as her lover disengaged from her arms and sat upon the edge of her bed – _their_ bed.

"We're almost there," replied Shepard, her voice was quiet, as if the war and all of its hardships had returned to her in its full fury.

"Already?" complained Liara, who sat up and wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist, placing a gentle kiss upon her shoulder. What the asari wouldn't give just for Shepard to be free of her pain. Ever since the Reapers arrived, Liara watched her lover bear the weight of the entire war effort, building alliances between sworn enemies, finding resources for their super-weapon; the Crucible, gathering armies to fight, watching helplessly as close friends die in front of her. It's killing her, not physically, but Liara could see the cracks in Shepard's soul getting larger and larger. She only hopes that this war ends before the damage becomes irreparable, but until that happens, Liara will do everything in her power to ease her pain.

"I hope everyone is ready," said Shepard, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Even now, the only thing on Shepard's mind is this damn war.

"You don't need to worry about that. You rallied who you could." And indeed Commander Shepard has. An entire galaxy has rallied under Shepard's banner, from the Alliance, to the Council Races to the Terminus Systems, from the krogan to the quarians to the geth, and even what remained of the batarians. From soldiers, to scientists, to mercenaries, anybody with ships, weapons and the manpower to use them have amassed and are ready to send the Reapers straight to hell…or die trying.

"The Reapers won't get any more chances to divide us," continued Liara, tightening her arms around her lover's waist. "This time, the galaxy follows _our_ lead."

"I worry about who we'll lose," replies Shepard turning her head to look at Liara with tired eyes. "There will be casualties. I just wonder how many." Would there be millions? _Tens_ of millions? Already, the body count of this war has reached the trillions, and now, here comes the great Commander Shepard at the head of the largest army in history, the collective might of the galaxy. But will it be enough? Will it buy them the time for the Crucible to reach the Citadel and bring an end to all of this, once and for all?

"You're not alone in this fight now, Shepard. Take strength from that."

With a slight smile, Shepard leaned forward to take Liara in a gentle kiss, one full of hope and love. And in Shepard's smile, Liara could see the unspoken words telling her that everything was going to be alright. She swears it.

"Thanks, Liara," said Shepard sincerely.

"My pleasure."

* * *

**London, United Kingdom. Earth, 2186CE. During the Battle of London.**

This was it. This was the moment they have all been waiting for. It was a chance to defeat the Reapers – if only they could get to the Citadel. A vast fleet of the various races fighting this battle were buying them the time they need to do this. The Reapers had closed the Citadel, thus making this mission all the more difficult. With the arms closed, the station was impenetrable, save for a conduit – a miniature Mass Relay – connected to some unknown location within the Citadel. The only way in. Their only shot at winning this thing.

The mission was clear. Get in, open the Citadel arms, and hope to whichever deities they prayed to that they weren't too late.

Liara was being driven to their destination in an Alliance rover, along with Garrus, Admiral Anderson, one other man she didn't know, Coats, an Alliance Major. And Shepard – her beloved Shepard.

The atmosphere in the rover was thick with tension. She knows what everyone was thinking. She was thinking it herself. Will they get there in time? Will the crucible work? Are we going to make it? Nobody voiced their thoughts, they were travelling in silence.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, it was Anderson who broke the silence. "From here on in, it's a straight shot to the beam."

"A straight shot with _Reapers_ trying to crush us along the way," replied Major Coats, though his tone suggested that he was ready and more than willing to do whatever it took to get to that beam. To activate the Citadel arms, and send those Reaper bastards straight to Hell, where they belonged.

Anderson looked at Coats, "I know that most of us won't be walking away from this, not with the Reapers coming to protect that beam. But we just need to get a handful of troops through."

Garrus gave a snort, "That all?" he said in his usual sarcastic manner, looking away from the others. Liara looked at the turian, _really_ looked at him. The pair had fought and bled together since the crisis with Saren and the geth, and their first encounter with Sovereign. They had saved each other's lives, and went through thick and thin with Shepard, _for_ Shepard, as did the rest of their friends. Garrus was always so laid back before…all this…just like he seems to be so laid back here in this rover. Garrus was always laughing and joking, and quick with one sharp comment or another…but Liara had seen the truth in his eyes before he turned his head.

Garrus Vakarian was afraid.

No, he wasn't afraid to die. He was a soldier. It came with the job. If victory against the Reapers cost him his life, then it was a price worth paying in his eyes. He was willing to die, if that's what it took. The turian was so much like Shepard, in that way – do whatever it takes, no matter the cost. No. Death doesn't frighten him. Instead, in that brave turian's eyes, Liara had seen the fear of failure. He knew that if they failed here, now, then Earth would die. As would Palaven, Thessia, Rannoch…every world inhabited by sentient life. There would be no more turians, no more asari, nor humans, or salarians, or krogan, or quarians. Not even the _geth _would be safe from the Reaper's harvest. It might be a slow death, by anyone's standards, but it will be an inevitable one if they do not finish it here.

She couldn't help but share in his fear.

Admiral Anderson's voice drew her away from her thoughts. "We knew this was going to be a gamble at best," he said, grimly.

They all nodded, though not really looking at him or anyone else. Everyone in that rover had the same, thoughtful, fearful look on their face. Liara then looked to Shepard. _Her_ Shepard, with whom she loves, and is bonded to in all but name. Liara watched her lover for a few moments, noting the subtle signs of stress and worry on her face. Shepard was afraid too. And she has been ever since she first even heard of the Reapers. But Liara knew that Shepard was going to use that fear to move forward, she wasn't going to let it compromise who or what she was. Liara looked at her, and saw a woman with the weight of an entire galaxy on her shoulders. She would do anything to help shoulder her burden. They _all_ would. Shepard has carried it for far too long, and – if they won – she would be more than happy to see Shepard cast it all aside, so they can finally get on with their lives. Together.

The Commander looked her way and their eyes met. Liara could feel the warmth and love towards her still coming from those tired eyes of hers. And despite the heavy burdens heaped upon her shoulders, Shepard gave Liara a little smile, the one that always told her that everything was going to be alright. She did it before Ilos, she did it before the attack on Cronos Station…and when she promised that she would always come back. It was a smile that told her that they _were_ going to make it.

Liara remembered Shepard's speech, the one she gave shortly before they all set out to do this. They all listened to it – her friends and fellow teammates. They all took those words to heart, let them push them further, make them fight all the harder, give them hope.

"_Comrades… This war has brought us pain, and suffering, and loss. But it's also brought us together – as soldiers, allies…friends. This bond that ties us together is something the Reapers will never understand. It's more powerful than any weapon, stronger than any ship. It can't be taken or destroyed. Remember what you fight for. The next few hours will decide the fate of everyone in the galaxy. Every mother. Every son. Every unborn child. They're trusting you…depending on you to win them their future. A future free from the threat of the Reapers. But take heart. Look around you. You're not in this fight alone. We face our enemy together, and together we will defeat them."_

The asari smiled back.

Commander Shepard stood up from her seat and grabbed one of the rover's handrails. She looked at her friends, with pride. "I'm proud of all of you," the Commander said. "Can't think of anyone else I'd rather do this with."

Liara and Garrus stood also, "I'm honoured to be part of your team," she said. Garrus nodded towards them both, the fear now gone from his face, replaced now with determination. "Damn right, Shepard," the turian said. "It's long past time to kick some Reaper ass!"

Major Coats placed a hand against his ear, listening to a message he is receiving. "That was the driver. We're in sight of the target," he informed the rest.

Anderson stood up. "All right, everyone. This is it."

And that was when they felt the blast.

It had happened so quickly, so suddenly, when they were thrown around like ragdolls inside the rover. What happened? Did they crash? Smoke filled Liara's lungs, was something on fire? Suddenly, she asari was being dragged from the wreck. She felt Shepard's arms on her shoulders as she breathed in heavy gulps of fresh air, trying to ignore the stench of the smoke. "Is everyone alright?" Anderson asked them all, blood trickling down his forehead. Everyone nodded in the affirmative. There were just a few bumps and scrapes, nothing that none of them couldn't walk away from.

Shepard looked to Garrus, "Garrus, check the driver," she ordered. Garrus ran toward the front of the rover, now a smoking mass of twisted metal. He shook his head, "she's dead."

"Damn it..." that came from Anderson. Liara and Shepard turned toward the Admiral, "Anderson?" the Commander said, and then she saw what he had seen. It was the dark metallic hulk of a massive and ancient reaper, descending from the sky to protect the beam. Its many baleful eyes seemed to look directly at them. Glaring at them. Shining with hatred for them, if it could remember how to hate.

Harbinger. The first and most powerful of the Reapers.

"We gotta move!" Anderson said to Shepard. The Commander nodded and grasped her assault rifle. "Come on!"

Anderson brought his omni-tool to his mouth, relaying the command to the whole of Hammer squad. "Hammer squads, GO! GO! GO!"

Everyone bolted. Men on foot, in rovers, and in Makos, Hammerheads, and even gunships, they all surged toward the conduit. Harbinger began to fire at them, throwing red beams of molten tungsten at them like an angry god throwing lightning bolts. It was nothing like any of them had ever seen before. Harbinger's attacks seemed faster than the usual Reaper, more ferocious. The members of Hammer were dying left and right. Vehicles were turned into flaming wrecks, and the soldiers were burned away to nothing. And whomever the beams didn't hit, the debris from the blasts had taken care of.

"Spread out!" Shepard shouted to everyone who could hear, still surging toward the beam like a woman with a purpose. "Come on, people! We can do this!"

Mantis Gunships tried to draw the Reaper's fire, tried to create a diversion for Hammer, but it was no more annoying to Harbinger than a swarm of flies. And even flied eventually get swatted. Not even the gunships were safe from its wrath, as the flaming wrecks falling to the ground could attest.

"We can do this!" the Commander yelled. And then one of the rovers nearby was hit. The heavy vehicle, so clumsy on the ground, was flying in mid-air towards her. Shepard had to duck down and slide under in order to avoid the wreck, missing it by mere inches. She stopped, and then looked behind her to see her friends as a Mako was blasted into the air, threatening to crush them both. It was quick thinking that moved them out of the way, diving to either side as the Mako crashed to the ground. But Liara did not get clear unscathed.

Shepard ran, leaping over the still-flaming Mako, and sprinted for Liara. Garrus clawed his way to his feet, giving the Commander a nod, assuring her that he was alright. Shepard nodded back, and grasped the asari in her arms before they took to cover behind the Mako's wreck.

"Normandy! Do you copy?" Shepard yelled into her comm, hoping beyond all hope that Joker was still alive to listen. "I need an evac. On the double, Joker!"

"_We're taking heavy losses up here, Commander_," it was Joker. Shepard breathed a sigh in relief, and then looked at her lover. Liara was badly hurt. She was bleeding, and she was sure that there were a few broken bones somewhere. There was a pause – too long for Shepard's taste – before Joker's voice buzzed in her ear. "_Okay, scratch that, we're getting trashed up here, but we're on our way, Shepard!_"

The Commander could see the Normandy from here, cruising gracefully toward Hammer. Shepard drew Liara's arm across her shoulders, all but carrying her toward the ship as it made its way toward them. "Come on," she said to Garrus with a jerk of her head.

Liara was breathing heavily in Shepard's ear as they stumbled toward the ship, obviously in a lot of pain. The Normandy's shuttle bay doors opened, its crew laying down covering fire with their assault rifles. Garrus boarded the loading ramp ahead of the others, turning to help Shepard with Liara.

"Here. Take her..." the Commander told her best friend as she transferred Liara to his arms.

"Shepard…" said Liara, her voice frantic with protest. Shepard looked at her.

"You gotta get out of here," she said to her firmly. She was not going to argue with her about this. If this mission failed, she wanted Liara as far away from here as humanly possible. She wanted her to live.

"I'm all right, Shepard…" The asari tried to look convincing, that she really _could_ go on. But Shepard was not having any of it. "Don't argue with me, Liara."

"You're not leaving me behind." The asari was not about to give in. She strained against the turian's hold, trying to reach Shepard.

Shepard stepped in close to her, gently placing an armoured hand against her cheek, trying in that small action to communicate just how damn much she loves the asari woman before her. "I'll always love you," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "No matter what happens… You mean everything to me, Liara. You always will."

Liara's eyes searched Commander Shepard's beautiful features for a long moment, "Shepard, I… I am yours." And she always will be. Until the end of time.

Shepard moved back, away from the loading ramp. "_GO_!" she ordered, flinging her arm toward them before bolting toward the beam once more. Garrus and Liara watched her running like some kind of demon hellbent on reaching her goal, defiant to the will of Harbinger as the Reaper destroyed all in its sight.

"Come on, Liara. Let's get you patched up," the turian said, helping her up the ramp.

Liara was still watching her lover move toward the beam, avoiding Harbinger's attacks. She knew in her heart that Shepard was going to be alright without them, but she could not shake that dread feeling that the possibility exists that she would never see her again.

But no. Shepard made her a promise. She was always coming back to her.

_Goddess, don't let her die. Please._


	3. The Battle of London

**Chapter Three: The Battle of London.**

**SSV Everest, Admiral Hackett's Flagship. 2186 CE.**

Admiral Steven Hackett was not having a good day. Not that he has had any abundance of good days ever since the Reapers arrived, but this day in particular was the worst one yet. They had completed the Crucible. Shepard had united the might of the entire galaxy under one banner, and said might was used to deliver the prothean device unto the Citadel, in order to defeat the Reapers. But as soon as the device had docked with the station…nothing was happening. It was docked, it was primed - he could see the light of the energy it gave off from the CIC of his damn _flagship_…and yet it hasn't fired, yet.

A hundred questions ran through the Admiral's mind. Is it too badly damaged? Were they doing something wrong? Was it something on Shepard's end? Hackett had commed the Commander hours ago. "_I don't see…I'm not sure how to…_" were the last words Shepard had spoken before they lost contact with her, and the Admiral had given his comm specialist standing orders to attempt to reconnect the signal. But nothing had come of it; all they had gotten was static.

To make matters worse was the pounding they were being given by the Reapers. It had seemed that for every Reaper they destroy, it takes a dozen – or more – of their ships with them. It was some brutal fighting. Hackett had already presided over the greatest military defeat in human history, when the Reapers had taken Earth in the first place. Now, thanks to the Crucible, it was going to be two-for-two.

He stood there before his galaxy map, staring at the holographic representation of Earth as it is under the Reaper's occupation. He could see the bright blazes of orange which used to be Vancouver, London, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro…even Buenos Aires, the city where he was born was burning. And because the prothean device had failed to do its job, he was now stuck here trying to put holes in Reapers instead of putting out those fires. This war should have finished hours ago.

His thoughts were disturbed by a small cough coming from behind him. He turned to see his executive officer, Jameson Wilkes, standing there with a datapad in hand. "What's our status?" the old Admiral demanded, his voice was rough and gravelly from age and the decades of barking orders to the men under his command.

Wilkes saluted the Admiral. "Admiral Hackett, sir," he began, hating to be the bearer of such bad news, especially in light of what was at stake should they fail here. "We…we have a report that the Crucible has ceased its priming."

_It __what?_! bellowed the voice in his head. "What? How did it happen, Wilkes?" Hackett demanded from his XO.

"We don't know, sir," he answered awkwardly. "Intel suggests that it might have been too badly damaged on the way here. The enemy was hitting it pretty badly, despite out efforts to shield it from the worst."

Hackett made a sound in his throat, as if he had an unpleasant taste in his mouth. "Try and reach Shepard again," Hackett ordered him. "Tell her to find out why it didn't fire."

Wilkes found that he didn't really have the heart to tell him this, but…he had to… "Admiral…we've been trying to reach Commander Shepard for hours, her metabolic scans read nil, and have been ever since we lost contact. It's in all likelihood that Shepard is _dead_, Admiral."

The Admiral glared at him. If looks could kill, his would carry the same yield as a Reaper weapon. The scar above his lip quivered in anger. _Shepard _can't _be dead_, he thought, _not like this_. _Jennifer Shepard had faced certain death dozens of times. Hell, she even _died_ once before, and then she got better –somehow – and all death did was piss her off, as the now-extinct Collectors could attest to._

Hackett grabbed his XO by his jacket, roughly. "It's not like she hasn't beaten the odds before, damn it!" he snapped at the man, furiously. "Now try and reach her again. That's an _order_, God damn it!"

If there ever was a choice between disobeying a direct order, and perpetuating his commanding officer's false hope that Shepard was still alive, then Wilkes chose to disobey. "I'm sorry sir," he said sadly. "But I cannot do that. We need to concentrate on the battle commencing right _now_, Admiral. We can't concentrate all of our attention on one dead soldier, sir, even if it _is_ Commander Shepard. What are your orders?"

The grizzled old Admiral growled low in his throat before letting Wilkes go. _Christ, the little shit was __right__,_ he thought, asking to himself what exactly it was he was doing, with his mind on one soldier when there was an entire_ fleet_ being decimated out there, in the dark. And he was right about one other thing. Shepard _was_ dead, wasn't she? Hackett felt as if he had just lost a daughter, he certainly considered her as such, almost as much as Anderson did, but he forced himself to calm down, nonetheless. "What's the status on the fleet?" he asked Wilkes.

The XO stood stiffly, smoothing down his jacket before checking his datapad. He read the report to his Admiral. "Sir, intel reports that most of Sword fleet has been wiped out, the turian, batarian, and quarian vessels have taken most of the casualties. All batarian vessels are down. The terminus fleet has disengaged and has fled the field; likely they tried to cut their losses. The Destiny Ascension has been reported as destroyed. A quarter of ours are gone. The geth fleet has taken the least of it. And…we have lost almost all of Shield fleet as well, protecting the Crucible… In short, Admiral…if you'll allow me to speak frankly…we're getting our _asses_ kicked."

Hackett scowled, "God damn it all…" Most of Sword fleet…down the drain. Almost all of Shield as well, and the Destiny Ascension destroyed. And those damn merc cowards, running back to the Terminus Systems, with their tails between their legs, not that it'll do them any good, it just means that they'll live just a little longer, and then die somewhere else. _And all of this for a God damn piece of garbage that was too broken to do __anything! _he thought.

Hackett would have thought this to be funny at this point, if he wasn't so pissed off right now.

"What are your orders, Admiral?" inquired Wilkes, again.

What _were_ his orders? They can't stay here and fight to the death. He knew – _everybody _knew – that the Reapers could not be defeated conventionally. All this was doing was adding more bodies to the funeral pyre.

With a heavy heart, Admiral Steven Hackett had made his decision.

"Declare Commander Shepard as killed in action," he ordered, his mind now fully on the grim task at hand. "And then get me the fleet, all frequencies and channels."

Hackett's comm specialist opened hailing frequencies to what was left of the fleet. "Attention all ships," he began, "this is Admiral Hackett. The Crucible has not fired. It didn't work. We've…lost the battle...maybe even the war. Fall back to the relay, and head to the rendezvous point. I repeat: fall back and get the hell out of here." He cut the comm, and breathed a heavy sigh, as if he just signed Earth's death warrant.

"And may God have mercy on us all," he said to himself, rubbing the stress from his eyes with his hand, the other holding onto the railing of his galaxy map in a death grip, to stop himself from shaking in despair. "God, damn it all to hell…" the old man whispered, forcing himself not to let the tears from his eyes fall, forcing himself not to think on those he has just left behind to die.

* * *

**London, United Kingdom. Earth, 2186 CE. During the Battle of London.**

This fight was going badly for Jack. Ever since the battle had started she was with her students, providing support for the front line troops. It was going well – at first – up until the moment a blast from a Destroyer has incinerated the soldiers in front, not even their biotic barrier could protect them from that thing's weapon. Since then, she, Prangley and Rodriquez and her 'ugly fuckin' boots' were on the run, being chased by – as she so eloquently put it – a horde of 'cyborg zombie assholes'. Jack fell back to buy her two remaining students enough distance from the husks to get away, they want to stay and help her fight them off, but their teacher would not take no for an answer.

She promised to follow behind and even threatened to kick their arses before they finally decided to say goodbye and leave her. "Eat this, you fuckers!" she cried, her shockwave attack tearing through the husks scrambling through the rubble to get at her. She was getting tired now, the biotic powers were taking a lot out of her, and so she switched to the shotgun at her waist. The weapon unfolded just in time for Jack to blow one husks head off before it grabbed her. She made a nice hole in another's torso, "_I will destroy you_!" she yelled, blasting another husk. She looked back to see Prangley and Rodriquez clamber through a ruined office building, and then she smiled. _The little shits'll do okay without me, _she thought._ They _better_._

Jack focused again on the task at hand, husks falling to shotgun and biotic attack alike. In that moment, Jack's fury was something to be amazed at, but there were too many of them. She struggled as they grabbed at her, pulling her in different directions, clawing at her flesh. Her final thought in this world as the husks torn her apart, was of her students.

* * *

Jacob Taylor and Javik were dug in deep along with a squad of turians. The prothean was laying down covering fire with his particle rifle with the turians, while the former Cerberus operative readied his biotics to pull entrenched enemies from their cover. Roughly a dozen cannibals were floating helplessly in the air, ready to be shot down, when something had made its way through a gap in their entrenchment. "Grenade!" one of the turians yelled before leaping out of the way. Everyone who could did the same as the grenade exploded. The next thing Jacob remembered was being on his back, his ears were ringing, and his blurry vision made out the four-eyed alien offering his hand to him.

"Get up, human!" the prothean growled as Jacob took his hand. "There are many more Reapers to –" Javik did not get the chance to finish that sentence. The marauder's bullet entering his skull made sure of that. "Damn it!" Jacob held onto the dead prothean, Throwing the marauder across the battlefield with his biotics. What was left of the turians provided covering fire while the human laid Javik's corpse on the ground, closing his eyes with his hand.

And so passed the last of the protheans.

There were too many of them. Jacob could see the turians fall lifelessly to the ground in bloody heaps. He readied his assault rifle. If he was going to die right here, he's going to take a few of the bastards down with him. He stood, blazing away with his rifle, a war-cry against his lips. The cannibals fell, but not before their own weapons had torn through his shields, through his armour, through his chest.

As he fell in a bloody heap, Jacob wondered about Brynn, and the child in her womb. Their _baby._ He wondered if it would be a boy. He always wanted a son he could play with, a little Jacob Junior. But no. He'd be just as happy with a girl.

And as more of the cannibals closed in, he whispered an apology to that unborn child that he couldn't be there, that he couldn't have that chance to prove he can be a better father than his own. He was even sorrier that his child would have to live in a world like this.

The cannibals ate him.

* * *

"I…AM…KROGAN!" Grunt's signature battle-cry rumbled through the street as he torn apart the husks with his bare hands. He had succumbed to the krogan blood-rage, as the hundreds of Reaper enemies he had physically dismantled could attest to. His bright blue eyes saw only the red of his fury. He moved with the grace of a berserker. He ran, he hit things, and he headbutted anything in his path. _Everything_ in his path.

His blood and bone demanded that they all die! _PAINFULLY!_

He lifted a marauder above his head like it weighed nothing more than a feather would. He howled like a madman before snapping its mechanical spine across his knee. He dropped the helpless turian husk to the ground, and then stomped its head into bluish paste.

He had even headbutted a brute to death at one point, grinning with mad glee as he felt the creature's skull become a broken, bloody mess against his hardened, bony crest.

"Heh, heh, heh," he chuckled insanely. He hadn't had this much fun since the Collector Base.

A husk had attached itself to his back, trying to claw at his face. He struggled, trying to get the little bastard off of him. "Get off me!" he growled as he smashed the husk on his back against a wall in an attempt to remove it. But the husk held true. _Tough little bastard, must be part-krogan or something._ As Grunt kept smashing, the wall of the ruined building was beginning to give way. Were the krogan continued as he was the building would likely collapse on top of him.

Wrex's biotics did the job for the mega-krogan. The husk floated in mid-air. The tank-bred turned, grabbed the floating husk by the leg and thrown him through the wall he has smashed it against previously. As the entire building crumbled against the force of which the husk was thrown, Grunt turned to see his clan leader, Urdnot Wrex, chuckling to himself like he had just seen the funniest thing ever.

"What's the matter, whelp?" Wrex scoffed good-naturedly. "Those 'good genes' of yours not enough to kill one tiny _husk_?"

Grunt smiled also. "Heh, heh, heh," he rumbled, as if he had just gotten the joke. He even considered headbutting the old battlemaster to prove how much he got the joke.

And then he saw the brute.

"_WREX!_" he started, charging toward his clan leader, but not soon enough to stop the brute from impaling Wrex with its oversized claw. The brute lifted the old battlemaster off his feet, presenting him to Grunt like some macabre trophy. But Wrex was having none of that. He aimed his shotgun behind him, under the brute's head. After two shots, the battlemaster reached with his other hand, and with the remainder of his strength torn the ruined head from its shoulders in a spray of sparks and bluish ichor.

The brute fell lifelessly to the ground, with Wrex still impaled by its claw. Grunt had finally reached him, kneeling down and grasping his clan leader's hand. "Heh," the old krogan gargled, coughing up blood. "Never thought it'd end…like –" he groaned, and then closed his eyes, his last breath slithering from his bloody mouth. Grunt howled in fury, mourning the death of a great warrior.

The krogan heard a scratching, insect-like sound behind him. He let go of Wrex's hand and stood, turning to see the Ravagers taking position, ready to fire their large cannons. "Heh, heh, heh," Grunt chuckled, roaring in defiance before charging the ravagers in berserk fury.

The ravagers fired.

* * *

Zaeed Massani was with the Blue Suns who were 'volunteered' to come down to London to aid in the fight. Their commanding officer had a cannibal's bullet with his name on it, and so he had the great honour of taking command of the traitorous bastards himself. No biggie for him, the Suns was technically his in the first place. "Come on, men!" he called to the mercs. "Let's fuckin' gut these bastards!"

The Suns charged, guns blazing. Jessie, Zaeed's beloved assault rifle, was primed for one last fight, spitting out death like the bloodthirsty bitch it was. Husks, marauders, cannibals, even the odd brute fell to the fury of the Suns. But not even the Blue Suns, not even a bloodthirsty bitch like Jessie was enough to save the old mercenary from the Reaper weapon firing at their position.

Zaeed didn't feel a thing.

* * *

Samara was having trouble herself. Her Code demanded that she protect these brave soldiers fighting and dying to give their children a future free from the Reapers. Their line had broken, and the Justicar stayed behind, to buy time for the soldiers to regroup. She had erected a biotic barrier around herself, plugging a hole in an otherwise defensible position. There was no way those creatures could advance through here, as proven by the creatures that tried and found their flesh being burned off by the bluish-purple haze of the warp field surrounding the barrier. It did not take them long until they decided to find another way around.

Samara breathed a sigh, and then she heard something terrible.

It was the ear-piercing shriek of a banshee. She searched the battlefield, eyes darting to pinpoint the banshee's position. The shriek was getting closer. Where was it? The Justicar could not see it anywhere, and so instead she concentrated, the barrier increasing in strength. She would wait until the banshee revealed itself before attacking the creature. Soon enough, Samara found that she needn't bother.

It was behind her.

It shuffled past her barrier like it was nothing, silently, until it howled so close to Samara's ears that she had to press her hands against them, lest the sound deafened her. Samara turned in surprise, lowering the barrier. The banshee howled again as the Justicar backed away, heavy pistol at the ready. But she found she could not pull the trigger. She looked at the creature, following her in short biotic jumps. Behind the banshee's skull-like face, behind its rictus grin, Samara felt a sense of familiarity with this monster. And then she realised, recognising the familiar features behind the rictus grin and the twisted asari features which were a sick parody of their beauty.

This banshee was Falere, her only surviving daughter. The one she left on Lessus.

_But it could not be!_ Samara reasoned with herself. Falere had promised her that the Reapers would not take her alive. _It wasn't possible! She promised me!_ The Justicar raised her pistol to fire on her daughter, but…she found that she couldn't do it. Even when transformed into this…monster, Samara still couldn't bring herself to kill her child, even if it was to put her out of her misery, even if it was beyond a mercy, even if her precious Justicar Code demanded it.

In her despair, Samara instead placed the gun against her own head.

Shepard was not there to stop her this time.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-2.**

"…_I repeat: fall back and get the hell out of here."_

Garrus was at the cockpit – along with Joker and Specialist Traynor – as they heard the order to fall back. Was Hackett serious? Of course he was. Garrus only had to look of the window and see the carnage happening in space right now. Hackett was right; they had to get out of here. Shepard would want that, too. She'd want them safe. But what was '_safe_' right now? He certainly did not know.

The turian shared a glance with Traynor. She was terrified. Of the Reapers, this war…everything. He placed a reassuring hand on her arm, and then looked to Joker. He had that look in his eye, that same look of anger he saw when they infiltrated the Collector Base just coming on a year ago now. He looked as if he was going to ignore the order to retreat. He'd fight this damn war himself if he had to.

"Joker," he began, placing his other hand on Joker's shoulder.

"Get off me!" cried Joker, angrily shoving Garrus' hand away from him.

The turian glanced at Traynor, who glanced back helplessly. "Joker listen, we have to go," he started again.

"I'm not leaving Shepard out there! She's still alive, and she needs us!"

"Joker…" Traynor looked like she was going to cry. Garrus couldn't blame her. "She's gone. We have had no contact, no _life-signs_."

"Bullshit! That just means that her armour's computer may be damaged. Hell, we did see her take a hit from Harbinger's gun, and she got up from that! We saw her _get up_!"

This time EDI intervened._ "It might also mean that she has simply passed away _later_ instead of sooner, Jeff. It is the logical conclusion. It is the _likeliest _conclusion." _

"Not you too, EDI," replied Joker, removing his trademark hat and brushing a hand through his hair. And then an idea came to him. "Look, I'll prove it to you that she's alive!" The pilot opened a channel to Admiral Hackett's dreadnought. "Admiral Hackett, sir," he began as the old Admiral's face appeared on the holographic screen. "Uh, Flight Lieutenant Moreau, here. SSV Normandy. Do we have an update on Commander Shepard, sir?"

The Admiral looked sad for a single brief moment, "_I'm sorry Lieutenant, but we have received no other contact from Commander Shepard. As you'll already know, her hardsuit's metabolic scans read zero, so right now…we have no other choice but to declare her as killed in action_."

That knocked the wind right out of him. "Killed in…uh, thank you, sir."

The old Admiral nodded. "_For what it's worth, Lieutenant Moreau, Jennifer Shepard was one hell of a soldier, one of the best I've ever seen. And she was a true believer, one who made others believe. Her loss will be remembered. Hackett out,"_ he said, and then he vanished from the screen. Joker breathed a sigh, and then looked down, not really seeing. There was only one thing that went through his mind at that moment. Two simple words. "Damn it," he said.

"_I am sorry, Jeff,"_ replied EDI, sympathetically.

"Yeah…" was all Joker said. EDI wanted to give her organic boyfriend a hug. She wanted to give him whatever small comfort she could provide. But unfortunately the mech she controlled was still on Earth, and they could not recover it any more than they could recover Commander Shepard. It was currently supporting Alliance troops against Reaper forces, and as soon as the Normandy was out of range and EDI could no longer command her body, then it would simply…fall down, leaving those soldiers to face the threat alone.

"Let's get out of here, Joker," said Specialist Traynor. Joker breathed a sigh, and then he was suddenly all business again, his fingers dancing across the display. "Setting a course for the rendezvous point," he said lifelessly.

Garrus nodded. _Good man._ He brushed a hand across his forehead, frowning as he saw fresh blood cover his hand. Things had been so hectic; he had forgotten that he wasn't without his _own_ injuries. And there was Liara to be taken care of… "I'm going to get this damn scratch cleaned up. Check on Liara, while I'm there."

"Okay, fine. You do that," in that same lifeless tone. Joker was not in the mood. That's fine; he didn't think anyone would be in the mood right now. Not even EDI. Garrus looked at the Comm Specialist, as if asking her to keep an eye on him. Traynor nodded the affirmative before he made his way to the medical bay. The turian felt the shift in gravity as the ship turned around and sped toward the mass relay as the elevator descended down to the crew deck. Once at the med bay, Garrus saw that Liara was still being treated by Doctor Chakwas. She was topless, beside the gel-filled bandages across her ribs. And there was a brace on one arm, also filled with medi-gel. Her injuries must have been more severe than any of them had thought.

The asari had seen him. "Garrus," she said, "you have to tell me! Did Shepard make it?"

"Liara please, you need to calm down and rest," said Chakwas as she gently pressed Liara back down on the bed. "Let the medi-gel do its job." Liara looked at the turian, saw the look of grief on his face, and she knew what his answer would have been.

"No…" said the asari, a tear threatened to emerge from her eye. She let it.

"I'm so sorry, Liara…" it was so hard for the turian to say the words, as if even thinking them doomed to reality the idea that one of his closest friends – no, Shepard _is_ his closest friend – is dead.

"No… NO!" Liara forced herself from the bed, renewed strength borne from desperation. "_Joker_!" she called through the ship's intercom as Garrus grabbed a hold of her before she hurt herself. _Not as if she isn't hurting enough, anyway. _"Joker!" she called. "Joker, this is Liara. What's going on? Did we find Shepard? Is she alright? Is she _aboard the Normandy_?"

"_Liara…" _it was EDI who answered; the AI's tone could be interpreted as a perfect simulation of grief._ "Shepard is gone. I am sorry."_

She struggled against the turian's grip, "_NO! _Let go of me, Garrus! _She is not dead!_" she cried as dark energy swirled around her body, as if she was ready to tear something – _someone_ – apart with her biotics.

"Liara, you need to stop!" Chakwas began. "Your injuries…"

Garrus looked at the doctor, Liara still struggling against him. "Keep a hold on her, Garrus." Chakwas ordered the turian as she moved toward the drawer where the kept her supply of meds. She found the one she was looking for, and prepared a syringe. Just in time before Liara did something stupid, like biotically hurl Garrus across the medbay. "What you got there?" the turian asked the doctor as she approached the struggling asari.

"This is Omega-Enkaphalin," Chakwas explained. "It will render Liara's biotics useless. Please keep her still." Omega-Enkaphalin – O-E for short – was one of the less repulsive fruits borne from Cerberus' twisted labours. Originally, when the drug was provided to her by Cerberus, it was supposed to be used in case Jack had any ideas, or if she had gotten too much out of hand. She was even prepared to use it on her when she was threatening to tear Miranda Lawson in half, before Commander Shepard talked her down. And now, it was about to find another use, to stop a grieving asari from hurting herself and anyone else aboard this ship.

"But she is still alive! She promised she would come back! She _promised_!" The tears were coming in full flow now.

"I'm sorry, Liara, but this is one promise she can't keep…"

"We have to go back!" Liara felt a sharp pinprick, and suddenly her biotics diminished. The dark energy swirling around her body had faded into nothingness. The O-E had done its job.

"Liara, there's nothing that can be done," said Chakwas. "The Reapers have been tearing us apart. _None_ of us want to leave her behind but…we have no choice."

"She wouldn't leave any of us behind, Doctor. She came for _you_ when the Collectors had taken you!"

Sadness streaked across the doctor's features. Commander Shepard was Karin Chakwas' friend as much as the Commander was Liara's or Garrus'. Granted, the asari woman was _much more_ than a friend, and so had an even greater reason to go back for Shepard then the others ever did, but right now they were powerless to do_ anything_ except flee. Did Liara not understand just how much Doctor Chakwas wanted Commander Shepard to be safe – somewhere else, if not on the Normandy, but _safe_ nonetheless? But she's not safe; she might not even be _alive_.

"And I'm very grateful to her for saving my life," she said. There was nothing more she could say on that particular matter, and so she instead pointed toward the bed Liara was resting on. "Garrus, could you please carry her back to that bed? I'm going to apply a sedative for her."

Garrus nodded and then lifted the asari up from under her legs. Liara cried as she was being carried back to her bed. "_SHEPARD!_" she sobbed, her voice could only be described as pure pain, and loud enough that passersby could hear said pain. Garrus tightened his grip as he carried her, almost as if he wanted to give her a small comforting hug before putting her back to bed. "_SHEPARD!_" she sobbed again, and then thumped her good hand against the turian's armour. Garrus could take it. Chakwas returned with the sedative. She felt another pinprick, and then everything was blurry, muffled…slow. Her mind was getting clouded. Her eyes were getting heavier. Sleep felt like a great idea now…

"…jennifer…" she said quietly before the deep, dreamless sleep took her.

* * *

When Liara awoke, she found that she was restrained to the bed, likely so she would not have an episode like before she was put to sleep. Her vision came into focus to see Doctor Chakwas sat beside her, keeping vigil.

"How are you feeling, Liara?" she said, giving her a caring smile.

_How do you think?_ was what she wanted to say. But she cannot be rude to the doctor, no matter how much she wanted to be. Chakwas was just doing her job, but in truth all Liara wanted was to be left alone in her grief. "Where are we?" Liara said instead of answering her.

"We're at the rendezvous point. You've been asleep for several hours. Admiral Hackett is speaking with representatives from the surviving fleets. He's trying to come up with new strategies to fight this war."

"How is it going?"

"I do not know, I'm afraid. Everything is all quiet throughout the fleet. Although word has spread somehow that it's not doing so well. There is even talk of the other races returning to their homeworlds."

"I see…" But they can't go back to their homeworlds. It wouldn't do them any good. And the galaxy needs them right now. _Shepard_ needs them!

Chakwas coughed. She looked like she wanted to say something important to the asari. "Liara, when I was treating your injuries, I had discovered something rather odd. Now, as a physician, I must ask: when was the last time you and the Commander have had intercourse?"

The last time she… What in the Goddess' name did her sex life have to do with anything?

Liara decided to answer anyway, "Shepard and I, we…" Liara remembered that night well. She remembered all of the nights she and the Commander had made love. When everything seemed at their worst, they would just look into each other's eyes. They would whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears. Feel each other's bodies against each other, and cover every inch of skin with kisses and caresses and take strength from each other. Recently, ever since this war started, Shepard hadn't even touched her like that until the decision was made to attack Cerberus headquarters. Shepard was going through a lot of stress, ever since the fall of Thessia, and Liara wanted – needed – to help her lover. "It was before the final attack on Cerberus headquarters. Why?"

Chakwas placed a caring hand on her forearm, rubbing her thumb across her skin comfortingly. As a doctor, the next few words which were to come were the best news anyone could hear from her. But right now, with the universe gone to hell, she wasn't so sure.

"Well, this is highly unusual for an asari who is still in the maiden stage of her life, but…well, Liara…I suppose congratulations are in order. You're pregnant."


	4. Eulogy

**Chapter Four: Eulogy.**

**Crew Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2. 2186 CE.**

Liara T'Soni hurt. It wasn't just the physical pain which afflicted her. The various cuts, bruises and broken bones ached despite the painkillers Doctor Chakwas prescribed for her. But she also suffered from a pain which was perhaps deeper than the physical: heartbreak, and the loss of a loved one.

It had been several days since arriving in this part of space, awaiting new orders, new reports and debriefings. But there was nothing. The remnants of the allied fleet were just sitting here, in the darkness of space, the crews of each surviving vessel awaited word from their leaders. But nothing…

It was becoming too much for Liara not to know; for the Shadow Broker to sit here, blind and deaf to information lying so close to her. Though when she finally decided to find out herself, she wished she hadn't.

The asari and salarians had decided to leave the fleet, as had the quarians. They all felt that the defence of their homeworlds was more important than waging war against an enemy that has already beaten them. Every species for themselves it seemed. Admiral Hackett was trying desperately to convince them to stay, to help fight, but to no avail. Their minds were already made.

Hackett even punched Admiral Gerrel in the face, so she heard.

The turians were undecided. They all want to fight, but with the absence of a Primarch to lead them, they were close to fighting among themselves over _how_. Do they stay with the fleet, or do they return to Palaven and take their chances? Whatever they decide, Liara knew the volus would follow. She just hoped whoever becomes Primarch makes the right decision and tells their forces to stay. The turians and humanity have had their fair share of differences, but for the decades since the First Contact War, their militaries defended the galaxy together. Theirs was now a friendship forged in fire, and she would hate to see that friendship break, too.

The geth have decided to stay with the fleet and fight. Their fleet was massive, almost reaching a number comparable to the Migrant Fleet, even with the losses the allied fleet had taken in the Sol system. And they were close to their full strength, a blessing in disguise it would seem, given the massive loss in ships everyone else had suffered. What platforms remained on Rannoch will stay there and aid the quarians in the defence of their homeworld, though the asari doesn't hold any hope of their survival.

The batarians were decimated. There was no dancing around the subject. Their losses when the Reapers invaded the Batarian Hegemony, combined with the losses taken in their attempt to retake Khar'shan, as well as the fighting over Earth, only a few ships remained of the batarian's military strength. But what remained did decide to remain with the fleet. Liara found it strange, that some of the Alliance's allies have abandoned them, yet their hated enemy, no matter how weak they were, no matter how dire their situation was, remains with them. When she read the report, Liara was reminded of an old human saying: 'Character is what you are in the dark.'

And still no word of Shepard.

A week passed, and then another. The entire fleet were still waiting for the turians to appoint a new Primarch but it was proving increasingly difficult to contact Palaven command, though why the turians didn't just appoint a Primarch from their existing command structure is beyond even the Shadow Broker. The Alliance ships were busy being upgraded by the geth's technology, an offer made by the geth through their consensus, though it was unlikely that the Normandy would receive such upgrades – it was already the most advanced ship in the Alliance fleet.

But all of this extra time was enough for Liara to sit down and think. Ever since they had left the Sol system, the asari had raged and cried that Shepard was still alive, to anyone and everyone who was willing to listen, and some who weren't. That her soldier was in pain, perhaps stuck under a pile of rubble, alone and barely breathing, and that she needed their help.

But then time went on, and eventually, Liara realised that she may have been in denial about the whole thing. Doubt had slowly crept into her mind, the unpleasant idea that Commander Shepard _might_ be dead. They all saw the Commander get caught in the blast from Harbinger's weapon. They also saw that she had risen from the attack. Shepard was beaten, bloodied and torn…but she was still alive.

And then they lost contact. Her life-signs read nil. It could be like Joker said: that her armour might have taken damage.

And then it could be like EDI had said: that Shepard passed away later instead of sooner. Liara didn't know.

And then suddenly…an unwelcome thought came to her. The denial had worn off. She began to think that maybe they were right. That her soldier really _was_ dead…and she had to accept that. She was in her quarters when the moment happened, when she just broke down and cried for hours. Garrus found her on her knees, in tears, and then he joined her on the floor…and held her. Garrus tried to take the pain away, like Shepard would have wanted him to do.

Commander Shepard was blessed with many friends, who would die for her if need be, but even so, she never had a truer friend then she had in Garrus Vakarian.

The next day, it was decided to hold a memorial service for the Commander. Currently, until everything was prepared Liara was in her quarters, trying to organise what little operatives who were still at her disposal. The rest have either been killed or have deserted, trying to find some deep, dark hole somewhere and wait the Reapers out. They may be waiting for a very long time, but ever since the lost battle over Earth, fewer and fewer agents have reported in to the Shadow Broker, she hasn't even received any word from Feron or even Tazzik, the Shadow Broker's personal hitman.

Soon enough there might not even _be_ a Shadow Broker.

Liara heard the door slide open, and she turned to see Specialist Traynor approach her, dressed in a formal Alliance dress uniform. Had this been any other time, Liara might have complimented that the comm specialist looked rather fetching. "Doctor T'Soni… Liara, it's time," Traynor said sadly.

"I know."

"Do you want me to -?"

Liara held up her hand, the one which _wasn't_ healing in a brace filled with medi-gel. "No, I… I can do this. It's just hard."

Traynor nodded in sympathy, "I know, take your time, Doctor. We're all here."

Liara and Traynor left her quarters together. While the walk was brief, each footstep held a strong feeling of dread. Liara didn't want to do this. But she had to.

It's time to grieve. It's time to let go.

They were all there, her friends…at least…those still on the Normandy. The rest are either dead or missing. But Garrus was here, as was Joker, Traynor, and Doctor Chakwas…even Ms Allers, who Liara didn't think _anyone_ on the Normandy considered a friend, except for maybe Specialist Traynor. But they were here. For her, and for their Commander. Their friend. Commander Shepard.

They all stood before the memorial wall, paying their respects to the new name hanging from it.

**Commander Jennifer Shepard**

Garrus coughed to clear his throat, ready to do the duty before him both as the newly appointed commander of the SSV Normandy, and as a friend to a great human being.

"We are gathered, here today, to honour the memory of Alliance Commander Jennifer Shepard," the turian began, shifting his gaze past everyone present. "Soldier…hero…friend. She died before her time, at the hands of the Reapers during the Battle of London." His gaze lowered to the floor, running a hand across his crest. This was hard for him, but he was a soldier, and he was going to get through this.

"Shepard was my friend," he continued, looking back up to those gathered. "We met when she went after Saren, three years ago." He saw a few heads nodding, Liara's included. "Back then, I was just a hothead turian working for C-Sec. I wanted to join her, not just because I wanted to see Saren brought to justice, but because I wanted to see how Spectre's got things done, without rules getting in their way."

The turian chuckled a little, savouring the memory it brought back. "She taught me the error of my ways. She taught me that just because the rules didn't hold you back, it didn't mean you should ignore them, or not care about the consequences of your actions, otherwise you're just a terrorist with a badge and innocent people'll get caught in the crossfire. When she died the first time, I was…lost. I quit C-Sec, became a vigilante on Omega, ended up pissing off the three biggest merc gangs on that station. My supervisor would be proud."

That earned him a few laughs, which brought a little smile to his face. "And then I saw her again, as if she died and all it did was piss her off. I joined her against the Collectors, and against the Reapers themselves without a second thought, because she was my friend and she was walking into hell. Of course, that meant that I was walking into hell along with her, but that's what friends are for, right?"

Garrus turned his attention from the crowd to the wall behind him. "She told me once that we were a team," he told them, almost whispering the words, almost letting his grief get the better of him. "That there was no Shepard without Vakarian. But the reverse is true, too; there's no Vakarian without Shepard."

A turian hand ran its fingers across the nameplate of Garrus' deceased friend. "I'm still hoping there is a heaven, Jennifer," he continued, the words meant for his ears and his alone. "Because I'm still buying when we storm that place together and hit the bar."

He cleared his throat before turning back to the crowd, gesturing towards a grieving crew. "Does anyone, uh…want to say anything?"

* * *

"I remember the first time I met Shepard," said Joker, beginning his eulogy. "It was during the shakedown cruise, back on the first Normandy. I thought she was gonna be some kind of major asshole. You know, the Captain's pet. I was a little jealous of her, too; here was this big war hero, Star of Terra, and everything. A badass N7 marine, jump into hell feet first kind of girl, and here's me with the creaky legs that gets yelled at by Anderson." He chuckled mirthlessly before continuing. "She didn't even know I had Vrolik's Syndrome until I snapped at her when she tried getting to know me better, and I realised that the _real _asshole was _me_."

Joker removed his signature cap and ran a hand through his hair. "And then she turned out to be the finest Commander I've ever served with, one I cared a great deal about. You know, Anderson told me to take care of her when we all saw this war getting to her. It was funny; the guy leading the Resistance, on _Earth_, telling _me_ to take care of _her_. I told her as much and she told me to mind my own damn business. I was so pissed at her after that. She apologised to me, but now I wonder…"

Tears formed in his eyes as he placed the cap back on his head. Usually, he'd say that there was just something in his eye, that he was allergic to some non-existent thing. But not today. Not for Shepard.

"Did I blow it?" he asked no one in particular as he felt droplets of water fall down his cheeks. "Did I try hard enough? Is it my fault she's dead?"

"No, Joker," answered Liara. "It's not your fault."

"Of course not, Jeff," followed EDI.

Garrus walked over to him to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, mindful that he was fragile. Literally. "It was never your fault," he told him. Joker sniffed loudly and turned delicately to face the wall, watery eyes reading the name of his commanding officer and friend.

"I'll keep fighting, Commander," he told the nameplate, saluting like he never saluted before. "You bet your ass, I'll keep fighting."

* * *

"I, like Joker, met the Commander during the first Normandy's shakedown cruise," Doctor Karin Chakwas started, in her hand was a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy and an empty glass. "I became familiar with her war record before she joined then-Captain Anderson's crew. I wanted to know her better. Shepard was an urchin from the streets of Vancouver, a former member in a criminal gang…the Tenth Street Reds, I believe. She was also one of the few_ living_ holders of the Star of Terra, awarded to her when she held off the pirate attack on Elysium several years prior. She was a hero, one who commanded respect."

Chakwas gave the crowd a warm, if sad smile, before she shifted her gaze to Liara, her smile becoming even warmer. And sadder, too. Sad for those her loss has left behind.

"The woman that record described didn't hold a candle to the real thing," she continued. "Shepard was brave, charismatic, a born leader, and a good friend. Once, when the Illusive Man himself had invited me to join the new Normandy crew, I told him in no uncertain terms that it didn't mean that I worked for Cerberus. It meant I worked for Shepard, and that I always will. _That _was the kind of loyalty she brought out in people. And when her incarceration ended, I joined her side once again, ready to face whatever awaited us. I faced one suicide mission with her, what was another? After all, how do you say 'no' to the woman who saved your life?"

The doctor poured herself a glass of the Ice Brandy, filling it almost to the top. She turned to the memorial wall and outstretched her hand. "I salute you, Commander!" she declared before downing the drink in one. "And goodbye…my dearest friend."

* * *

"I wasn't even meant to be here," said Specialist Traynor, hands behind her back and still looking fetching in her uniform. "I mean, I _was_…but only for the refit, you understand," she clarified. "And then the Reapers attacked Earth, and I was swept along for the ride."

Traynor saw a couple of nods of acknowledgement from crewmen standing at the back of the crowd. Privates Campbell and Westmoreland, Commander Shepard's former guards, as well as a few other faces who were present during the refit. They knew what she was talking about.

"I really didn't know what to do with myself then," she continued. "So I just stood there, in the CIC, working the comms like a shy little mouse. But Commander Shepard, she…she gave me her support. She made me feel as if I was truly a part of her crew. I was in awe of the hero, but I was also surprised that there was a woman under all that armour, a _gorgeous _woman."

"I remember the first time she met me," she said. "I was terrified. Of the Reapers…the war…everything. She helped me. I actually grew to fancy her, actually."

And then she realised what it was she said. "Oh! Sorry, Liara, I didn't realise…I mean I knew she was with you, but… I _never_, in a million years, would have…!"

"It's alright, Samantha," replied Liara. Now was the time for grief, not petty jealousy. Of course, in another time, she might have warned her off her soldier. Perhaps with biotics.

It was a moment before Traynor continued. "You're sure?" she asked her, feeling awkward, now. With the brief nod of acceptance coming from the asari, she continued her eulogy. "Like I said, I grew to fancy her…actually, no. Scratch that. I'd fallen in love with her. She was just so…_her_!"

Samantha felt the blush burn through her mocha skin. "Um…I think I'll stop, right now," she declared, thinking to herself that that would be best, before she embarrassed herself even further. "Unless you want to hear about the story about how she saved the Normandy with my toothbrush? Actually, just forget I said anything. Thank you."

But it felt good to get that off her chest, the crush she harboured for her Commander which had grown into love, however unrequited.

She felt a hand grasp hers delicately. It was Diana's. Samantha gave her a delicate smile, rubbing the hand she held with a gentle thumb. She was in love with Commander Shepard. But she also harboured a torch for this woman standing before her. The rest of the crew didn't give Ms Diana Allers the time of day, save for herself, and of course the reason she was here in the first place; Commander Shepard. A friendship of sorts formed between the pair, one which grew closer as the endgame drew near.

She blushed when she recalled the first time they made love.

"Thank you," she whispered to Diana, though the look in her girlfriend's eyes told Traynor that they were going to talk later.

* * *

A tear fell from Liara's eye as she approached the wall, and then placed her hand across the nameplate, rubbing her fingers gently across Shepard's name, as if reminding herself that this _was_ real. "Shepard, I…" she began, trying to find the words, but she realised she'd better start with addressing her deceased love by her given name. It was hard, but she'll manage it.

"_Jennifer_…" she began, "I…really do not know why I find it so difficult to even call you by your first name, even _now _of all times. Perhaps…it seems too much like an intimate thing to do so. A more personal thing, like just after you and I have…you know. I do not even know what to say. I had this big speech ready, and everything…but now…the words have failed me. Garrus told me about how you two once joked about 'storming heaven and then meeting at the bar', but I know that…wherever you are, you're looking down at us. I know that you will always be watching, no matter what."

She gently placed a hand against her belly, over the child growing in her womb. It had come as a great shock to the asari when Doctor Chakwas informed her of her pregnancy. Everybody knew that when an asari has melded with their partner, it is always due to her choice whether or not she becomes with child.

Asari pregnancy was never 'accidental' like it was possible with human women. But Liara supposed that deep down, in her heart of hearts, that perhaps she _wanted_ to give her beloved Shepard a child. Maybe then it was by some…_subconscious_ choice that this came to be. Liara didn't know. She only knew that it _is_. That she wanted to give Shepard a baby girl. Lots of them – they certainly spoke of it enough times, of 'marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children' to quote the Commander, when they first finally had a free moment since she had become the Shadow Broker a year ago.

Yes. Marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children. Liara wanted that, despite that particular 'want' being generally common among asari in the matron stage of their lives, and she still being in the maiden stage, it was _her_ choice. She wanted to marry the Commander and spend a life with her, to grow old – well…_older_ – with her, until Shepard had died of extreme old age, peacefully, in bed and surrounded by their children. And Liara had loved Commander Shepard so much, so completely, so absolutely that she _wanted_ to give that to her. But that was not going to happen…was it? No more than was Shepard going to keep her promise to always come back.

Another tear fell. Liara felt the warm water drip onto her hand. "You should know, Jennifer," she continued, "that I'm…I'm having your baby. I imagine that if you were still here, you would be overjoyed to hear it." That was not all she imagined. She also imagined that Shepard would would…what was that quint ritual the humans sometimes did with their friends? Brofisting? Garrus and Joker would certainly be up for that. And then she would somehow climb the highest place she could find, and then scream at the top of her lungs something silly, like "I'm Commander Shepard, and I'm having a baby!" she laughed at the mental image, just at the absurdity of it.

It would seem that even in death; Shepard could still make her laugh.

"I was wondering what I would name our daughter. I suppose I should do what tradition demands and give her an asari name. Either my mother's or father's, but I would rather name her after the courageous woman who was her father." Liara sighed. "I have to admit, Shepard…I do not think that it is fair to our daughter to raise her while the Reapers are…_harvesting_ us…but we often spoke of little blue children, didn't we, my love? How could I deny you this, even if you are…gone." Her body threatened to collapse from under her in her grief. It was only the arms of her friend Garrus which stopped her from doing so. "I'm okay," she said to him, sobbing. "I'm sorry…"

"Are you sure?" the turian asked.

She nodded, tears still in her eyes. "Yes, thank you Garrus." Liara regarded the nameplate hanging from the wall once more. "But I know that one day, our daughter will be as brave and as beautiful as you were, and I will do my damnedest to keep her safe for you, even if I have to lock her in a box somewhere until the Reapers go away."

Liara gave a small smile at the thought, and then the tears came again. "Why did this have to happen, Jennifer?" she asked the nameplate, as if it had all the answers. And then came the anger. She curled her good hand into a fist and then punched the nameplate. "_Why did you have to die?!" _the asari demanded, leaning her head against the cool metal of the memorial wall. Traynor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Liara just shrugged it off._ "_No," she said. "I'm…I'm almost done."

She moved her head away from the wall, and then pressed her lips against Shepard's name. "I love you, Jennifer Shepard…I love you so much," she said, lovingly stroking the nameplate once more. "I am yours, always. This isn't goodbye. I shall see you again, in the next life."

One by one, the crew of the Normandy left to perform their duties, leaving the grieving asari woman alone with the memorial wall. For what seemed like forever, she stood there, looking at Shepard's name with tears in her eyes. But then EDI's voice rang in her ears. "_Liara, I_…" she began, not quite knowing how to speak her mind. The same as everyone else, Liara supposed. "_Before the mission to Cronos Station_, _Shepard recorded a message for you, in the event that she failed to stop the Reapers and is no longer with us,_" the Normandy's AI informed her, finally. "_I think she would like you to have it, now that she is…gone_."

"A message?" replied the asari. For if Shepard failed to… _Don't, Liara_, her mind ordered. "What does it say?"

"_I have prepared the recording to play in her quarters_," answered EDI. "_Whenever you are ready, Liara_."

* * *

Whenever she is ready. Will she ever be ready? She has just said goodbye to her beloved Shepard, is now the time to see her again, even if it was in holographic form? Liara made the decision to get it over with, watch the recording, and hear Shepard's final words to her.

"I'll be on my way," she said as she made her way toward the elevator, punching in the button for the Commander's former quarters. And here she was. Her lover's room. It was immaculately clean, the signs of a military life all around her. Liara touched the models of ships on display, watched the pet rodent Shepard kept – her space hamster – hide from the asari with a tiny squeak, watched Shepard's fish swim lazily in their own little watery world, unknowing and uncaring of the greater universe beyond.

These were her quarters. And they'll never be occupied by her again.

"Play the message EDI," Liara had taken a seat on Shepard's bed as a small, holographic image of her lover appeared. Shepard was sitting on her bed, holding her helmet in her hands, as if inspecting it. Liara remembered this, this must have been before she had intruded upon Shepard, before the assault on Cronos Station…before they had made love for the last time and conceived their daughter. Liara looked down at her belly and held it gently with her good hand as Shepard's words filled her ears.

"_Hey Liara. I-uh… I guess I should start with something dramatic like: 'By the time you see this, I shall be dead._'" Shepard chuckled mirthlessly as she continued. "_Yeah, that's a little cliché, isn't it? But it's true. If you're seeing this, then…then I'm dead. I just want to apologise for that, and…I hope it was because the Reapers had taken me with them when I sent them straight to hell_."

_But the Reapers are still here…and you're not_, Liara thought as she watched, tears threatening to blur her vision. _I am the one who is in hell._

"_But if I'm gone…and the Reapers are still here, then… I guess that's it. We failed. If so, I'm just leaving this to tell you that I love you so much, Liara T'Soni. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I broke my promise to you, that I would always come back. I'm sorry that we couldn't have that life together. I'm sorry we couldn't have little blue children together. I'm sorry that we couldn't grow old together_…"

Liara watched as Shepard let loose her string of apologies, noting the part about the little blue children. "You're wrong, Shepard," she told the holo-image, stroking her belly. "We will have _one_ little blue child together, at least."

"_I'm just…sorry for everything_…" the recording was silent for several minutes, before Shepard continued.

"_But if the Reapers are still here and I'm not, then there are two things I want you to do for me, Liara. Call it a dead girl's last wish_," Shepard gave a short laugh before continuing. "_First thing. Remember your project, that time capsule you showed me? I want you to make as many of those things as you can, and put them on as many planets as you can. Maybe they can help the new guys in fifty-thousand years. The second thing…once you've seeded the galaxy with your archives…then I want you to _live_. I want you to go find some remote planet, space station, _anywhere_, and live the rest of your life in peace, away from the Reapers_."

Liara raised her hand over her mouth as she sobbed, tears falling down her cheeks. She remembered what she told Shepard. 'To find some place very far away, and spend the rest of your life in peace, and happiness.' Shepard had the same thought. But could she really have such a life without her? Yes. She has to. Both for their daughter's sake, and because her beloved Shepard asked her to.

"_Can you do that for me, Liara? Look, before I end this message, I just want to say that…I love you. I always loved you, and I always shall. Forever and always. Please live. For me._"

And then Shepard said nothing, she just sat there, on her bed, inspecting her N7 helmet. Liara heard the door chime in the recording, knowing exactly what would happen next.

"_I wondered where you were_," said the holographic image of herself.

"_EDI didn't tell you?"_

"_She respects your privacy. Not like-"_

"Stop."

With that command, the recording fizzled into nothingness, leaving Liara alone with her grief. Lying on Shepard's bed, she stared out toward the stars visible through the window above her, the infinite expanse beyond the mass effect field enveloping the Normandy as it flew through the void. As she lay there, staring out into the blackness, Liara promised herself that she would do as Shepard asked. She will make as many of her time capsules as she could. She will seed them on as many planets as she could. And she will_ live_. For Shepard….and their daughter.

"I love you, Jennifer Shepard."


	5. An End and a New Beginning

**Chapter Five: An End and a New Beginning.**

**Alliance Shuttle, en route to SSV Normandy SR-2, currently in orbit over Planet Elpida. 2197CE.**

Liara was exhausted. But of course, what else was new in this dark world the galaxy has become? What else was new, when one's days were spent surviving, and not living? But for the asari, it was all over, now. Her task is complete, and now she can find someplace very far away. With the one bright light that remained to her.

Her daughter.

She was ten, now, her baby girl. Ten years of being raised on a warship, of being under the feet of soldiers and being a general nuisance to the crew. The Normandy was a warship, after all, not a nursery. Not that they minded. To the rest of the crew, her daughter was something of a mascot, something to remind them what they were fighting for, besides survival and revenge. To them, she was a future that, however grim, still held hope. To them, she was the light at the end of the tunnel, even if that light was dim.

And her daughter was rather fond of Specialist Traynor, having no friends her own age.

And soon, very soon, she will take that away from them.

"So this is it then, huh, Doc?" asked Major Vega, who sat in the seat opposite hers as they waited out the journey back to the Normandy. Liara shifted her tired eyes to the large, muscular man. He looked so much older, now. More mature, more sure of himself. Of course, she remembered the bright, young hothead who was once Lieutenant Vega, the one who once argued physical superiority against biotics with her, an argument which ended when she decided to Lift him off the ground. Not that he minded though, apparently he felt a little buzzed when the biotics came into play. And it didn't stop him from trying to prove his point again when he challenged Jacob and Kaidan to a push-up contest. Which he lost.

She'd like to see that brash Lieutenant return, some day.

"Yes," she answered him. "That was the last time capsule. Which means my time aboard the Normandy is almost over."

"So what's the plan? You're just gonna find some place and put down roots with your girl?"

"That's essentially it, yes," Liara watched James' reaction. The young Major was not the most supportive of her friends when her intentions became known. James was firmly in the 'stay with us' persuasion of the crew. But at the same time, he knew how impractical it was to raise an asari child on a ship which faced danger every day. As much as he liked the Doc, and her girl, and as much as he wanted them both to stay on the Normandy, his blessing was theirs.

Not that he ever told Liara as much. James wore his feelings on his sleeve, but not the ones he considered 'mushy'. It wasn't his way. Not that she minded; Liara has known the young Vega long enough to understand what his way actually was.

He was a good man.

"Are you going to convince me otherwise?" she asked him, knowing what his answer would be but felt that she should ask anyway. These were among their final moments together, it was best not to fill them with silence.

"Not much point," he sniffed, leaning into his seat as he crossed his beefy, tattooed arms. "I know you're dead set on leaving. And how many times we've all asked you to stay and you said 'no', ain't gonna be me that's gonna make you say 'yeah'. Besides, our little asskicker aboard the Normandy deserves a little peace and quiet."

Liara breathed a sigh. "Thank you, James," she told him. And then she remembered what it was he called her daughter. 'Little Asskicker.' _No,_ she thought to herself. _Not if I have anything to say about it._ Because wasn't that the whole point? For her daughter to live in peace? Liara didn't want her daughter to grow up to be a soldier, she didn't want to watch her baby have to suffer through the pain and anguish she and her friends have felt.

If her resolve to stay needed strengthening, that moniker would have been it.

And then she saw James huff a little, the glint in his eye telling her that adding the name might have been the idea.

She smiled at him.

"Entering the Normandy's docking bay, now," called out the shuttle pilot, a young woman barely old enough to even be in an Alliance uniform, let alone fly in one of their shuttles. It seemed as if the soldiers fighting this war were getting younger every year. Perhaps, eventually, the only ones left to fight would be children, another reason to leave this war behind.

She felt the shuttle rock as it landed in the Normandy's hangar, hearing it power down as the hatch slid open for all to disembark.

"End of the road," said Primarch Vakarian as he moved his gaze between the other occupants before leaving the shuttle. James followed the turian, but not before dragging Liara out of her seat and drawing her into a hug, almost crushing her with his muscular arms. Without a word, James released the asari and disembarked, leaving Liara alone in the shuttle, touched by the display of affection from the big man.

"Yes," she whispered to herself. "End of the road."

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-2.**

"Mommy!" gushed the little asari girl as she charged the disembarking Liara. Without a second thought, she fell to one knee and took the girl into her arms and squeezing her daughter for all she was worth.

Her little Jennifer.

"I missed you so much, Little Wing," said Liara, squeezing her daughter tightly. Once upon a time, Liara hadn't meant to give her daughter her old nickname. One day, it just…slipped out. At first, Liara felt embarrassed at the nickname, but her daughter didn't mind, and if Shepard were still with her, she would no doubt say some strange human metaphor about paying respect to her mother, Benezia. As had naming her 'Jennifer' been a sign of respect to the girl's father, Liara's beloved soldier. But the name stuck, nonetheless, and ever since then, her little Jennifer had been her 'Little Wing'.

She only hopes that she'll grow up to cause a big storm on those little wings. She deserves it.

"_Miss Jennifer_," chirped Glyph as it hovered over the little asari as she laid on the floor of her mother's quarters, playing Kepesh-Yakshi on a datapad. "_It is now your bed time_."

Little Jennifer groaned. "Can't I stay up for a little while, Mommy?" she asked Liara who was sat by her desk researching Reaper migration patterns, searching for a suitable world for which she and her daughter could finally live out their lives. The search was not going well, she found. Every map she read, every report of colonies and hidden enclaves being hit and destroyed. The Reapers, if anything, were thorough. All she needed was one planet, one moon, one abandoned space station…_anywhere_ the Reapers will leave alone.

"Mommy?"

Liara turned her head from her computer, listening to her daughter. It took a moment to remember what it was little Jennifer had asked. "No, Little Wing," she answered. "You need to get some sleep, now. We have a big few days ahead of us."

"We're leaving," she replied sadly. It was not a question.

"Yes…yes, we are."

With a sad sigh, Jennifer rose from the floor, remembering to take the datapad with her as she made her way to her bed, which was little more than a cot with a few plush toys laid above its covers. Liara removed herself from her work so that she could tuck her in, kneeling beside the cot as Jennifer climbed in.

"Mommy?" began Jennifer as her mother tucked her in, looking at the picture beside her cot on a little table. It was the picture her father took on the Citadel, during their final gathering, before Shepard and most of their friends were killed. Liara gave the picture to her, after she saw it for the first time and decided she liked it. And it almost felt like her father was watching over her from that picture as she slept.

"Yes, Little Wing?"

"How…" she began hesitantly. "How did Daddy die?"

The question stunned Liara. This was not the first time her daughter had asked her this question. She has been curious about it ever since she learned what death was. And for all these years, Liara had been hesitant to answer her. It wasn't as if she wanted to keep the circumstances of her soldier's fate from Jennifer, but she feared how she would see her father if she ever learned the truth.

She deserved to know her father as a hero.

"Mommy?"

* * *

**Secret Alliance Facility, Canada, Earth. 2187CE.**

"The Primarch will see you both, now," said the young Alliance officer who served as the Primarch's aide.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," replied Garrus, the duly appointed 'Acting Primarch' of the Turian Hierarchy. It was a compromise of a sort, when the turian fleet was about to tear itself apart over what to do about the Reaper problem. Without a Primarch to lead them, and without word from Palaven, it seemed as if the allied fleet would fracture even further. So it was decided that a turian from within the fleet would serve as a temporary leader of their people until contact with Palaven or Primarch Victus was achieved.

And the lucky turian happened to be one Garrus Vakarian. Not that he felt that lucky.

He and Liara were here, on Earth, primarily because contact with Victus was established. They were here to see if an evacuation of Earth was possible, given the Reaper's relentless harvest of the planet. But that was the official reason. For Liara, her reasons for being here were much more personal.

Shepard was alive.

They found her in a crashed Cerberus shuttle, outside the city of Seattle. James, Kaidan, and Tali were the first on the scene, doing reconnaissance after receiving word that something left the Citadel which was still orbiting the planet. What they found was beyond even their wildest dreams, and even her own.

Her soldier was alive.

She wanted nothing more than to abandon Garrus to these talks with Primarch Victus and run to Shepard's side. It was all she could do not to do just that.

_But she's alive!_ Liara thought to herself with glee. _She's alive!_

The door slid open to reveal the office of Primarch Victus, who assumed command of the joint resistance here on Earth. Victus looked like he had seen better days. His turian features were haggard and aged, and his remaining eye looked tired. Liara felt for him, for what would have been an extraordinarily difficult ordeal for him.

But his face brightened when he saw his old subordinate enter the office first. "Vakarian," he began. "Or should I say 'Acting Primarch'," Victus chuckled. Hopefully Garrus hated this job as much as he did, and from the look of his face when the Primarch mentioned his current rank he probably hates it even more. _Good, _thought Victus._ It'll do the kid some good for if he ever ascends to be a _real_ Primarch._ If only he could leave him with the job, so that he could be a mere General again. But alas, the line of succession doesn't work like that.

Garrus laughed. "Yeah, if it's all the same to you, sir, you can_ have_ your job back. And if it's _still_ the same to you, may you live to be a thousand…or maybe you could demote me to a Private, or something. Whichever keeps me furthest away from the Primacy."

"That'll be both."

"Works for me," Garrus smiled as he moved out of the way so that Liara could enter and greet the Primarch. Victus nodded toward the asari. She was a good kid – despite the fact that she was older than both turians combined – and her reputation as an information broker was…interesting…to say how young she was. "Doctor T'Soni," he greeted her, "you look…" It was then that he had noticed her pregnancy. "…Congratulations, Doctor."

The asari smiled at the Primarch. "Thank you, Primarch Victus," she said, placing a hand on her belly, which grew as the months passed. Liara was close to her due date, now, and soon, she will welcome a new life into this dark galaxy. "Well," she continued, "as you know, we are here to gather intelligence on the situation here before Admiral Hackett decides whether or not to send aid."

"I know, I know," Victus had been through this before with Major Coats. "We can get to that in time. But first…" the Primarch grabbed a datapad from his desk and handed it to Liara. "I believe you requested this. Reports on some friends of yours and Vakarian's?"

"I did, thank you." Liara received the datapad and read through the reports. As she read the names of her fellow crewmates – her friends – and those who fought with Garrus and Shepard against the Collectors, her face fell further and further down the path of sadness. "Liara?" said Garrus, worried about the look on his friend's face.

"Urdnot Wrex, killed in action," answered the asari as she turned her head toward Garrus. "Urdnot Grunt, killed in action. Jacob Taylor, Jennif-uh…'Jack', Zaeed Massani, Samara, even Javik…all of them are dead." Liara's eyes drifted back to the datapad in her hands and she read further. "EDI's mech body is damaged beyond repair. Kasumi Goto and Miss Lawson are listed as missing, but…they are presumed to be killed also."

"Spirits…" Garrus ran a hand across his crest, and Liara felt a deep sympathy for the turian. Though Liara had only fought with two of those listed on this datapad, Garrus had fought with them all. Grunt. Javik. Miranda… Admittedly, Garrus didn't really care for either of them, even downright disliked them, one cannot help but be saddened by the deaths of comrades.

And Wrex… Wrex's death was probably the hardest for both of them. The old battlemaster was a dear friend to both of them; back in the day they would fly in, blow up some geth, and then finally oppose Saren at the end of it all. The old krogan had lived for over a thousand years, had many adventures, and fought in countless battles…and to find out that all of it had ended… Liara could only hope that the old man died as he lived, with guns blazing.

"Any of ours who are still alive?" asked Garrus, almost afraid to even know the answer. Liara checked the reports, and smiled when she found what she was looking for. Someone _was_ still alive. "Major Alenko and Lieutenant Vega are still alive, and are in fact in this very base…as is Tali."

The look on Garrus' face when he had heard Tali's name was beyond any price. She had known about their relationship for some time before they came to deliver the Crucible. They had thought they were being secretive about it, but that was the thing about being the premier information broker in the galaxy…nothing stays a secret forever. Despite that, they weren't that good at keeping their relationship a secret, as Shepard simply walked in while they were…_together_. Liara was happy for him, he needed some happiness.

And Shepard… Liara read the datapad for any reports about her lover, but she could find nothing. She looked up at the Primarch. "Shepard…" she said. "Is she?"

Victus nodded with a light in his eye. "She really _is_ alive," he confirmed. "She's currently in a coma, though. The doctors had to medically induce one to give her body a chance to heal itself. To say that she was banged up pretty good would be a colossal understatement. It was her Cerberus implants and what was left of her armour which kept her alive."

Her Cerberus implants… Not since she had been reunited with Shepard on Illium all those years ago had she been so grateful to the Illusive Man. Though Liara still hated Cerberus with a passion, they tried to kill her more than once, had thwarted Shepard on Thessia, and then there was the atrocities they had done on Horizon… they had done something right in her eyes. They brought Shepard back to her…twice, now.

The asari knew that they were here for reasons other than Shepard, and seeing the Commander was lower on that list than she liked, she just wanted to run straight to where Shepard was and never leave her side again. She looked at Garrus, who instantly knew just what she was thinking.

"You know, Liara," he began with a happy look in his eyes. "This thing doesn't need the both of us, right now. Go to her."

Liara was unsure. Garrus said that it was alright, but…they do have a mission, one which must take priority over her own personal desires. She looked toward Primarch Victus, whose eyes held the tell-tale sign of approval for following on to said desires.

"It's quite alright, Doctor," he said, nodding. The primarch pressed a button on his desk, summoning his aide. "This young lady will escort you to the infirmary, Doctor. Garrus will update you once you are finished."

Liara gave her thanks and bid goodbye to the two turians. The human who was escorting Liara moved in as brisk a pace as she did, despite her awkward, pregnant waddling.

The pace continued until they had finally reached their destination, thankfully a short trip in Liara's opinion. Victus' aide pointed toward the door to Shepard's room. "Commander Shepard is right here, ma'am." she said, saluting her before she had taken her leave. Liara thanked the young human as she left her before Shepard's room.

Liara took a deep breath before looking down at her growing daughter. _Well, little one?_ she thought, stroking her midsection. _Are you ready to meet your father?_

The door slid open as she entered the infirmary room. It was just like any other hospital room the galaxy over. Sterile white decor, and she could smell the faint scent of disinfectant and medi-gel in the air. The asari held her breath as she saw her beloved lying on that bed, hooked up to various machines monitoring and regulating her life-signs. Slowly, Liara paced toward the bed and had taken a seat on the small stool beside it. _Goddess, Shepard,_ she thought, _you are a mess. But you are alive!_

Carefully, as if even touching her would bring her harm, she grasped Shepard's hand, stroking it with her thumb. Liara looked at the Commander's sleeping face. She looked so…peaceful…sleeping like this. It was as if she hadn't been fighting a terrible war this past year.

"Shepard…" she said to the comatose human, "you kept your promise." Tears formed in her eyes as she buried her head in Shepard's shoulder. "You kept your promise!" she sobbed. The asari didn't know just how long she sat there, crying on her lover's shoulder, she was just so thankful to the universe that her Shepard was here before her. Shepard is okay… She kept her promise. The happiness Liara felt from that was indescribable. But as the asari raised her head from Shepard's shoulder, that happiness had taken a turn toward something more severe.

Anger.

The asari's grip on Shepard's hand began to tighten, had she her lover's strength, Liara would have crushed every bone in her hand, her grip was so tight.

"You _bitch_…" Liara hissed at the Commander. "You selfish _bitch_! Do you realise just how close I had come to losing you? Do you?! When you ran for that beam in London, I _begged _you to let me come with you…to be with you if the end ever came for us. For you… But you made me _stay_!" The tears returned. "You made me stay, and then I came so close to losing you forever, Shepard!"

But Liara didn't lose Shepard. She was right here. Liara breathed a heavy sigh and closed her eyes as her grip on Shepard's hand lessened.

"I'm sorry, Shepard," she said, kissing her hand. "It's just…" No. If Shepard were awake right now, she would be telling the asari not to apologise for feeling so angry about this. Shepard would feel as if she deserved every angry word Liara had just said. She kissed Shepard's hand again.

"It was so hard to be without you, Shepard…" Liara just sat there in silence for Goddess knew how long, just holding her lover's hand, not saying another word. Eventually, she stood up and leaned over Shepard's comatose body. "I love you, Jennifer," she said, kissing her. Please wake up…

The machinery started to beep in faster intervals. Liara took notice of it and instantly became worried, did she do something wrong? Is Shepard in danger? She was not a doctor of medicine, but something had to be wrong. She quickly pressed a button beside Shepard's bed, summoning one of the base's resident doctors. While she waited, Liara looked at her lover.

"Shepard?" she said, taking notice of the Commander's eyelids. They were fluttering. Was she waking up? Liara could not speculate on what was happening to her lover any further, as the next thing the asari had taken notice of, were the hands of the now awakened Commander Shepard wrapped around her throat.

Gasping. Choking. Hard to breathe. Liara tried in vain to loosen the grip Commander Shepard had on her throat, if only to have just one more gasp of air in her lungs. But the Commander's grip was too strong; the cybernetic implants she had received from Cerberus when they had resurrected her had made sure of that. Thanks to them, the Spectre was stronger, faster, and more deadly than any human soldier before her. As the pressure on her throat tightened, Liara looked into her lover's hate-filled eyes. Gone was the love she had for the asari, gone was the need to protect those she cared for, and those she did not even know, gone was her very humanity. It was as if the human before her – strangling her – was some kind of imposter, as if some Reaper puppet had stolen her face, and is now using it to kill.

"Shepard…" Liara choked out, trying to use what little breath she had to plead with her lover. "Please…"

The grip tightened.

Liara was certain that Shepard could break her neck if she wanted to, crush it even. All she had to do was squeeze. So why didn't she? It would be easy for her to do it, she was a soldier, a trained killer, she had ended the lives of countless people, quickly, cleanly…so why isn't this quick and clean? Why doesn't Shepard just kill her right now? Why draw this out any longer than she had to?

Did it even matter? The woman Liara loved with all her heart has her hands wrapped around her throat, threatening to end the life of not just her, but that of their daughter. Their little girl…who would never see her father.

"_Liara?"_

Liara heard a voice in the air? Who was it, and why would she hear it in the air? _"Liara,"_ again comes the voice. It had sounded feminine, with a faint accent which sounded…quarian? Tali's voice? _Oh no…_ she thought._ Is this…?_

"_Liara…"_

She hopes so; by the Goddess, she hopes so.

"_Liara…wake up."_

* * *

Liara had woken up with a quiet gasp, and had realised just where she was. She was still in Shepard's room…and she was still unconscious. Liara had been asleep this entire time, using Shepard's stomach as a pillow. _Oh, thank the Goddess_, Liara counted the many blessings bestowed upon her at this moment. _It wasn't real… It wasn't real!_ Liara felt a three-fingered hand touching her back. It was Tali. She looked up at the quarian who had rescued her from that terrible nightmare.

"Tali…" she said quietly, her eyes switching between the quarian and her Shepard._ It was just a dream…_ Liara felt Tali's arms wrap around her as she cried in relief. "It wasn't real!" she exclaimed.

"I take it you were having a bad dream?" enquired her friend.

"Oh, you have no idea," answered the asari.

A moment passed, and Tali looked down as she noticed the bulge in Liara's belly. "Keelah!" she exclaimed, rushing to place hands on the asari's stomach. "Is this…?"

Liara nodded, smiling at the attention the quarian was giving her unborn daughter. "Congratulations, Liara!" said Tali as she wrapped her arms around the asari's shoulders once again, careful she didn't squash the baby inside her.

"Tali are you here?" called out a familiar voice. It was Kaidan. Tali removed herself from Liara's embrace as he entered Shepard's room. "Liara?" he said, eyes widening at the sight of her, and of her belly.

"Hello, Kaidan," Liara nodded to the Major.

"Liara, what are you doing here?" he asked as he drew her in his arms, emulating Tali. "I thought you left with the fleet."

"I did," she replied with a smile, so very happy to see old friends again. "The Normandy came back when we regained contact with Earth. I'm supposed to be in a meeting with Primarch Victus."

"Is this about the whole evacuating Earth idea?"

The idea sounded too good to be true for Kaidan. The idea was that a portion of the allied fleet would enter the Sol system through the Charon Relay, and provide a distraction for the Reapers currently harvesting Earth. As battle ensues, a second fleet coming in through FTL from a nearby solar system would drop in and send shuttles to as many Alliance bases and population centres as they could get away with. It would be impossible to completely evacuate the entire planet, but that didn't mean that one should lose all hope.

Liara nodded, "Garrus is discussing the plan with Victus as we speak," she told him as she stroked her belly.

"Hey Doc!" called out James' voice as he entered the room. "I heard you and Garrus were…" he stopped mid-sentence as he took notice of Liara's condition. "Holy shit, you're pregnant!"

Liara enjoyed the reunion. It felt so good to see the old squad again and it was better once Garrus was able to join them. They made a little celebration out of it in the Mess Hall, chatting together as they ate, talking about the goings-on of both the forces here on Earth and within the allied fleet. Garrus groaned when Liara informed the others of his Primacy, to which Tali teased the turian mercilessly about it, mentioning how interesting it felt to be the boss' better half. Another conversation involved the asari's pregnancy. How far along was she? When will the little miracle of life be born? What is she going to call her? James suggested she name her daughter after his mother, but she politely declined, informing him that she intended to name the little one after her father, an idea Kaidan agreed with.

But as much as she wanted to remain with her friends and catch up on old times, Liara felt tired, and excused herself so that she could get some sleep.

* * *

It was the alarms which woke her. Liara's eyes opened in a panic as the alarms blared loudly in her ears. She rose from her loaned cot and exited her quarters. She found Alliance soldiers running through the corridor in a hurry, yelling and checking their weapons. "What's going on?" she asked herself as she stepped out. She tried to stop one soldier and ask what the situation was, but was ignored by the human.

"Liara!" she heard a voice call out. It was Garrus, clad in armour and wielding an assault rifle, and coming straight toward her.

"Garrus, what's going on?" she demanded from him.

"We're under attack," the turian answered. "Indoctrinated agents are killing everyone in sight. And Victus is dead."

_Victus is dead?_ she thought, before instinct took over and grabbed Garrus' sidearm. "Shepard," she said, her voice laced with fear for her soldier, lying comatose for anyone to find. If the wrong person found her…

"I know," said Garrus. "We have to move._ Now_."

And move they did, with a purpose borne of desperation. They moved past the running soldiers as they turned each corner and marched through every corridor which took them down the path of the Medical Ward, and to Shepard. They could hear gunshots through the corridors, followed by the blood-curdling screams of death, the deaths of Alliance soldiers defending their base from the Reaper's servants.

"Goddess," Liara gasped as they reached Shepard's room, fearing the worst as they found her bed empty. Liara wondered what happened to her. Did someone move her somewhere safer? It would make sense for the Reapers to have their biggest threat eliminated. Has she woken up? If so, was she helping with the defence?

Or…

"She's not here, Liara," said Garrus, pulling the asari out of the room. "We have to take care of these bastards now, and find her next. Don't worry, she'll be okay."

Liara prayed that she would be alright, as she and Garrus explored the base, following the sounds of gunfire and carnage. It wasn't long until they started to find blood on the walls, and then bodies…and then a lot of bodies. Liara's eyes widened at the sight before her. All this blood, all these bodies, it was as if she had walked into a slaughterhouse. How many indoctrinated agents did it take to cause this much damage? she wondered. She hasn't seen this much destruction since…

_Oh no… Oh, Goddess, please no…_

"Get down!" called out Garrus as he tackled her, the bullets missing both of them by mere inches. They scrambled to cover as a hail shot passed them, and Liara clutched her belly in pain as the one firing on them spoke.

"You shouldn't have come here," said Commander Shepard as she took potshots at them with her assault rifle.

"Goddess, please no…" whimpered Liara in despair, sat down on the floor as bullets whizzed past her. Shepard was indoctrinated. She didn't think it possible. Shepard was so strong willed, so stubborn, that not even the Reapers would turn her to their side. She still didn't want to believe it, even when her soldier was trying to kill her.

Try is the key word. Shepard was stuck where she was, and the only way out was through them, Garrus noted. He could scarcely believe what he was seeing, himself, that his closest friend was shooting at him.

"What can I say?" Garrus called out as Liara stewed in her despair. "Maybe we missed you."

"I know you did, Garrus," Shepard taunted, unleashing another futile hail of bullets from her assault rifle. "You know the Reapers are right, don't you? That the only way is to let them win."

"Oh, sure!" replied Garrus. "That why we're kicking your bosses' asses all over the galaxy?"

"You wish. I've seen the Catalyst, Garrus," she said. "It told me the truth about the Reapers. They're _preserving _lives instead of destroying them! It's_ us_ who're killing us!"

Garrus grunted as a bullet sliced past his cheek when he tried to take a peek at Shepard. "I know you're crazy, Shepard. But I can't believe you're crazy enough to believe those things out there only have our best interests at heart." He took a few shots of his own, knowing he missed when Shepard replied in turn.

"It's why I refused to activate the Crucible!" she shouted.

Garrus didn't believe his ears. Did the Reapers get to her sooner than he thought? Was that why the Crucible didn't fire? All this time they all thought it was too damaged to work…but was it all because Shepard didn't even bother to turn it on?

"Bullshit!" he yelled, firing his rifle.

"It's the truth!" replied Shepard. "I _refused_, Garrus! I refused to make the choice, because I realised the truth about everything!"

"_Shepard_!" cried out Liara, moving out of cover with tears in her eyes.

"_Liara don't_!" yelled Garrus.

Shepard took aim with her rifle, but somehow hesitant to pull the trigger after seeing Liara move towards her.

"Don't do this, Shepard," pleaded the asari, moving forward with her hands empty, uncaring of the little red dot planted on the middle of her chest. "Please…if there's anything left of the woman I love still in there… You have to stop this, Jennifer."

Shepard grit her teeth. Her finger trembled over the assault rifle's trigger, as if there was a war going on in the Commander's brain. Shoot or don't shoot. Kill or don't kill. Inside her mind, what remained of Commander Jennifer Shepard waged war on the programming of Reaper indoctrination. The little spark of what was once her struggled to surface, as she had seen with Saren, Benezia, and the Illusive Man.

"Shepard, please…" she heard Liara's voice, gentle, loving, warm against the cold of her mind.

She knew her fate.

"It's too late for me," she told the asari. Her resolve to kill strengthened itself, and her aim became all the surer. Liara closed her eyes and awaited the inevitable.

"I'm so sorry, little one," she whispered to the child in her womb. She heard the gunshot, and gasped at the sound and brought a hand to her chest. But she could feel no blood, no bullet hole, no pain. She was alive. Her baby was alive.

"I'm so sorry, Shepard," she heard Garrus say as he emerged from his cover. Liara's blue eyes saw the body before her, her soldier's body, her beloved Shepard. She was still alive, but barely, her chest now a crimson mess.

"Liara," she called out weakly, struggling for breath. Liara was by her side instantly, on her knees and grasping her hand as if doing so would keep her soldier in this world.

"I'm here, Shepard," she said, placing a gentle kiss onto her hand.

"Liara, I'm so sorry," Shepard was coughing up blood. Her time was limited. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Shepard," said Garrus, now on his knees beside the dying Shepard.

"Garrus…you shot me."

Garrus chuckled sadly. "Yeah, well…you gave me no choice."

"There's something I need…to tell you," Shepard's breath was ragged. "The Crucible…it was too damaged…would have…killed us all. I had to refuse!" More blood emerged from her lips.

"Don't talk," Garrus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Shepard's dying gaze shifted to the love of her life, past the hand the asari held and onto her growing belly. She gasped lightly, moving her other hand weakly towards it, pressing gently.

"Mine?" she asked her, and Liara nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Ours," she answered, the sadness threatening to overwhelm her. This was not supposed to be her soldier's fate, lying here, coughing up her own blood. She was supposed to be an old lady, dying in bed while surrounded by their children. Shepard was too young to die, too wonderful a person for this to be her time. "Meet your daughter," she said. "Little Jennifer."

Shepard sobbed, as if all her burdens have come crashing down upon her, and all that was left was darkness. "I'm scared," she admitted to the asari, as a single tear left her eye.

Liara leaned down and pressed her lips upon her soldier's forehead. "I love you," she told her.

"I…" began Shepard before letting out one final exhale, the last of her life snuffed out. Commander Jennifer Shepard has died, her ultimate fate to be killed in the dark by her closest friend, to die as a Reaper puppet. _No_, Liara thought as she watched Garrus close her soldier's eyes. _Shepard was herself in her final moments. She was the woman I loved._

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-2. 2197CE.**

"Mommy?"

Liara shook her head from the unpleasant memory, and looked down at her daughter's beautiful face, those large, blue child's eyes, the delicate chin, the button nose. In time, this little girl will grow into a woman. She wondered if she would have Shepard's face, which was ridiculous; asari take nothing from the father, genetically speaking. But Liara could hope something remained of her soldier, something that lived inside little Jennifer.

She planted a delicate kiss on her daughter's forehead. "How your father died doesn't matter," she finally answered. "The more important question is how she _lived_. And there's time enough for me to tell you_ those_ stories. Now close your eyes, and go to sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us."

"Okay…" replied her daughter tiredly, closing her eyes as she yawned.

"Good night, Little Wing," said Liara, smiling as she stroked her daughter's crest. "I will see you again with the dawn."

"'Night, Mommy."

"_Good night, baby_," came a voice inside Liara's mind, her subconscious conjuring images of her soldier, standing behind her with her arms wrapped loving around the asari. She leaned into the imagined touch, bringing her hands up to touch Shepard's hands as she embraced her. The asari turned her head, picturing her soldier's face so close to hers, pressing their lips together, and seeing the love in her eyes.

"_We did good, Liara_," she told her. Liara knew she was talking about their daughter. "_We did good_."

"Yes, we did, Shepard," she whispered as she watched the image of her soldier vanish, and then shifted her gaze to her sleeping child, now clutching a stuffed toy varren. "We did good."

A few days later, Liara finally found her new sanctuary. In celebration, Primarch Vakarian had declared that the crew's daily rations would be tripled, causing much joy for those who served under him. It was Liara and Jennifer's 'going away dinner' he told them, and both asari appreciated the gesture. Jennifer certainly did. Food was scarce within the fleet, and it was difficult to resupply without the Reapers noticing. What he would have given for a few quarian liveships, he once said. It would have helped with their food problem, and it meant he didn't have to convert the few dozen dreadnoughts they need for combat.

But they ate, they drank, and they made merry. Liara savoured the time she spent with her friends and companions, for it would be the last time she would be with any of them. She smiled when she saw her daughter stuff her face with food, gently telling her to slow down or else she would be sick. Her mind drifted to the last time they were together like this, back on the Citadel, all those years ago, and she felt young again.

Garrus tapped his fork against a glass, causing the crew present to become silent as their leader spoke. "Well, I guess you all know the reason I tripled our rations today," he began, watching a few members of his crew raise their glasses to Liara. He nodded before he continued. "Very soon, Doctor T'Soni and her daughter would be leaving us, to find a little world somewhere to call their own. You can call it a retirement home, I guess, while the rest of us'll be up here, kicking Reaper ass."

A few cheers, and then, "But I want to thank you, Liara, before you leave us. For your counsel, your years of service, both to the Alliance and to the allied fleet, and most of all…for your valued friendship." He raised his glass, prompting the others to do the same. "To Liara," he declared.

Then followed the collective voices of the crew. "Liara!" they said, followed by a quiet "Mommy" from the little asari girl. They were waiting for the Primarch to sit back down, so that they can continue with the celebrations. But he didn't just yet. There was a thoughtful look in his eye, as if there was something more for the turian to say. He kept his arm straight as he spoke again, with a greater conviction than before. "To absent friends," he said. "In memory still bright…To Anderson…Hackett…Ashley…Kaidan…Tali…Legion…Thane…Mordin…Miranda…Jacob…Jack…Kasumi…Zaeed…Samara…Javik…Wrex…Grunt…and to…"

"Shepard," Liara interrupted with tears in her eyes.

Garrus nodded sadly to the asari before downing his drink. "To Shepard."

* * *

**Planet Istoryan, Talmaran Federation. Year of the Discovery (YD) 3264. Earth Year: 52,183CE.**

"_And so our story ends, and yours begins. Contained within these archives are our history, our cultures, our technology, blueprints for the Crucible, information on the Reapers, how to fight them, and how to stop them. And also within these records…is information on someone very dear to me, whose name I have written in the stars. Commander Shepard was a fighter and a leader – one who made peace where she could__ who knew when to be persuasive and when to apply pressure__. And it was a privilege to know her. Let her example inspire you to do great things and fight harder in the struggle ahead of you. I only hope that the information within this capsule is enough to help you, because if it is not, then it's up to you to pass the torch along to the next cycle – as we have. This is Dr. Liara T'Soni…signing off. Best of luck to all of you."_

The damaged recording shut off automatically, leaving those watching alone with their thoughts. The talmaran scientist, Pannor Rass, stroked the long, thick tendrils below his chin in thought.

"Hmm…" he said. "A very, very fascinating find. This is possibly the most complete and intact recording of the Predecessor Archives I have ever seen. Yes." Which was true. Fifty-thousand years is a long time for a computer to sit around, and despite Liara's efforts to preserve them as long as she could, all that remained of them were damaged or incomplete, and some were even broken beyond recovery, much to Professor Rass' eternal shame. Recovering what his people, what all peoples of this cycle, refer to as the 'Predecessor Archives' has been his life-long dream, and Pannor has spent much of his forty years – old, by talmaran standards – pursuing that goal.

He wanted to know.

To the talmaran scientist, the archives were a record of those who came before, their culture, and their history…the only things which mattered to Professor Rass, and not the technology within such devices, technology which no doubt would be used as weapons in whichever conflict happens to be fought this time.

If, say, a race like the yahg, or – goodness forbid – the _sianessons_ had a hold of records this complete, Rass could not even begin to think what the consequences would be for the rest of the galaxy.

And now, thanks to a recent archaeological find – the biggest yet – his dream of completing the archives may just come to pass.

And it would not have been a moment too soon, if his companions' warnings of the Reapers were true. And what he had seen in their eyes, in their memories, Rass was more than inclined to believe them.

Liara T'Soni watched the recording of herself in miniature, a tear falling down her cheek as memories of what was left behind came flooding back to her. "Actually, I'm a little embarrassed," she told the talmaran professor. "I was sure more of my time capsules would have survived this long, and in better condition than this one. I was an archaeologist once, after all."

"Actually, I'm surprised _any _of them survived in _any _condition, Doctor T'Soni," Rass admitted. "The building materials and methods used weren't exactly the finest in Predecessor history."

"What can we tell you, Professor?" the other occupant of the professor's laboratory said plainly. It was the young Jennifer T'Soni, daughter of Liara and Commander Shepard, now a grown woman. "We were pretty desperate when we had Reapers on our asses."

Liara and Jennifer were the two luckiest asari in the galaxy, or perhaps the two unluckiest asari, depending on point of view. The war against the Reapers had lasted only a few years past a century, but they had lived through its entirety, was enough to see everything the younger asari grew up to know just…vanish, as if none of it ever existed.

The pair of them even spent almost four decades stuck on Noveria.

And through one last act of desperation, the small handful of asari stuck on that frozen rock alongside her tried to preserve themselves through cryogenic freezing left over from one of Noveria's old laboratories. They would wait out the decades, as the protheans did before them.

And of that small handful of asari survivors…only she and her mother lived to see this new cycle. Everyone else. Her friends…her wife…all gone. All except for her mother and herself.

The Goddess had a cruel sense of humour, Jennifer had decided.

The plan was to freeze themselves for a century or two, but then it seemed that something happened – a computer glitch, so the Professor's data analysts had theorised – which kept the asari in cryo stasis indefinitely, until the VI controlling the tubes decided to preserve what power remained by powering down a cryo-tube every few centuries or so. One by one, it killed the rest of their fellow asari – including Jennifer's beloved Sereena – and left them all alone in this new cycle. Strangers in a strange galaxy, left behind by a race long dead.

"Ah, the Reapers? Of course! They would obviously cut off supply lines and prevent the enemy from acquiring materials. Why did I not realise sooner? Fascinating." Pannor stroked his chin-tendrils once again in fascination, before realising what he had just said. What the asari felt as they remembered their cycle was far from fascination. 'Grief' was the word either of them would have used. Despair, loss, variations of either.

"Ah. Please forgive me, my dears," he said, head bowed in apology as he realised the insensitive remark. These brave women have lost their entire way of life. Their culture, their history…their people…fifty-thousand years went by as they lay in cryo-stasis, forgotten by the universe. These two were more alone than anyone else could ever be. "That was...I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's…" Liara's words were interrupted by the alarm sounding throughout the research facility which housed Professor Rass' laboratory.

"What's wrong?" Jennifer asked the talmaran, who moved toward a computer console and brought up the facility's security feeds. His four large eyes scanning the feeds, not liking one bit the images he had seen. Soldiers clad in bulky red and dark grey armour, shooting down everyone in their path. His staff, his students, the rubatid security mechs moving in to defend against them, none were safe from the intruders as they made their way deeper into his domain.

"Oh no…" was all he could say.

"What is it?" The asari were getting worried now. Were they under attack? Everything in the younger asari woman's being was telling her to reach for the nearest weapon she could find, but…there were no weapons here, nothing she could defend herself, save her biotics. Liara was thinking the exact same thing, as old instincts took over while Rass' fingers worked overtime across the computer's holographic display.

"Rass!" Jennifer said, getting the scientist's attention, his wide eyes widened further in his panic.

"They're here!" he exclaimed.

"_Who's_ here, Professor?" demanded Liara.

"Soldiers from the Sianesson Republic. They've come for my work!" he answered her in a panicked state, his attention back on sealing the lab and activating security measures throughout the station. "There," he said finally. "This lab is now sealed. There's no way those thugs are getting in here without burning through. This gives us time. Please! You must help me secure these Archives!"

Through the noise of the alarms and gunfire – sianesson soldiers no doubt fighting the facility's security mechs and slaughtering every member of Professor Rass' staff, as well as any students who had the misfortune to be in their way – Pannor and the asari hurried to remove every scrap of the talmaran's data relating to the Predecessor Archives.

Halfway through their efforts, Pannor had decided to check the security feeds again. What he saw did not please him in the least. Three soldiers clad in armour making their way through the bullet-strewn chaos left in the sianessons' wake, gunning down any Republic soldier or security mech they saw. Pannor watched the feed with an uneasy feeling as his eyes scanned the markings on their armour, and their silvery grey, black and dark red colour configuration. These things told the professor who these people were, and the answer filled him with dread.

The Valvoryen.

_No, no, no!_ The Sianesson Republic has been the enemy of his people's Federation for centuries, as well as being thorns in the sides of the other Council races. They would still be in a state of open war were it not for the treaty which ended their conflict, a treaty enforced by the Talmaran Federation's allies, for both sides. An uneasy peace had been established, one which the Republic chose to honour, when it suited them, at least until now. And until now, it seemed that it was only the Valvoryen who did not understand that peace was the better path for all.

"Valvoryen…" Rass whimpered in fear, wishing that his people had gods he could pray to. Or perhaps he could convert to the sianesson theology and pray to all the gods. "Oh my…" he cried again. "_Valvoryen_!"

"Val-what?" asked Jennifer. "What is Valvoryen?"

"They're _terrorists_!" While the description was an appropriate one for a member of one of the Council races to use, the truth of it was that the Valvoryen were a sianesson paramilitary group dedicated to what they claimed to be 'sianesson survival against all enemies, foreign and domestic', though they have often been dismissed as xenophobes and sianesson-supremacists. Rass had heard all the horror stories, how people died or were disappeared in the middle of the night, how entire city blocks were destroyed in Valvoryen hit-and-run bombing attacks. And it wasn't just civilian targets they went after, for he hears that not even_ military_ bases were safe from them. He had even heard stories from people he trusts that they were brazen enough to attack full battle groups, and even their own people's forces in their own space!

They were madmen. And now they were here, on his little world, inside his little facility, here to kill _him_!

"We need to hurry!" Rass and the asari doubled their efforts. Even now, they could hear soldiers burning their way through the door, carving a rough circular shape to breach through. Jennifer had the gut feeling that they were too late; these sianessons, Valvoryen, whoever they are, will be in here any minute now.

They need to fight their way out of here if they have to leave the facility. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, the lab was small and there was no real cover to get behind. And so her soldiers training took over, she would charge through the breach biotically and kill everyone outside. She would commandeer a weapon and fight her way through the soldiers and protect the professor and her mother. She has to, or everything she and her parents have gone through fifty-thousand years ago will have been for nothing.

They were coming through. The breach is almost complete. Jennifer concentrated, the bluish-purple aura of dark energy flaring up around her as she prepared herself to charge whoever came through that door.

The very second the breach came down Jennifer unleashed the energy built within her. For a split second, her body was non-existent, a bright flash of biotic energy which travelled in the blink of an eye, like a ship travelling through a mass relay, rematerializing in between the soldiers who had breached the door. Energies exploded from her, forcing her enemies back, impacting the walls with such a force it was unlikely they had survived. Without thinking she reached down and grabbed a discarded weapon; a shotgun of unknown configuration. But then again, nearly everything about this cycle was unknown to her.

"Impressive," said Liara. It wasn't often she saw her daughter's biotics at work in combat. Jennifer nodded toward her mother as Liara removed a sidearm from a dead soldier's holster.

"Let's go, Professor," she told the talmaran, who was finishing his work with the Archives, and finally disconnecting the black box which may contain the hope this galaxy needed. They moved away from the lab with urgency, with Jennifer taking point as Pannor gave her directions to the shuttle bay, while Liara watched their rear. They didn't get very far before they were discovered by the professor's Valvoryen friends however.

"There he is!" called out one of them as they approached. Liara took a few shots at them with her pistol before shoving Pannor back.

"Run!" Jennifer ordered before turning to take a blast with her own weapon, narrowly dodging a bolt of biotic energy whizzing past her head. She reciprocated with a biotic attack of her own, throwing a Warp at their attackers as Pannor and her mother had the good sense to do as they were told.

"After him!" called out another. It sounded like a woman. "Split up! Dax, with me, we'll go around!"

Jennifer decided not to stay long enough to find out what they were planning, turning and running through the corridor as fast as she could, following Pannor and her mother through another – hopefully quieter – route through the shuttle bay, ignoring the commands coming from their pursuers.

She then wondered if Eagerly was okay.

Then something hit her with the force of a charging krogan, knocking the wind out of her as she hit the floor, sliding across the polished surface.

"Jennifer!" her mother called out.

"Don't worry about me, just go!" she wheezed out to the others as they stopped in their tracks to help her back up. "Mom, get the professor out of here!" Jennifer turned her body to face the oncoming Valvoryen, a single man running toward her, a bulky looking heavy pistol in his hand.

Before she wondered where the other two were, she unleashed a Warp attack to weaken her pursuers' shields, and then let loose with her shotgun. The pellets should have killed him, and probably would have been, were it not for the biotic Barrier the sianesson had quickly erected to absorb the force of the blast. Instead the force had knocked him off his own feet, crashing to the floor with a heavy thud.

It was quick thinking, and incredible reaction time, but being good didn't mean she should let him get back up. The asari rose from the floor, moving toward her target so she could put him out of his misery. She took aim for his head, but before she could pull the trigger, Jennifer felt herself be thrown against the wall biotically, followed by two blows to the head and a sweep of her legs and she was down, her lungs compressed as what felt like an armoured boot pin her down by the chest.

Through instinct, she lifted her shotgun and aimed at the shape pinning her down. Said shape was an armoured soldier, clad in grey, black and red, and surrounded by a biotic aura, swirling around her like purple smoke. She was as tall as the other sianessons, although judging from the way this one's armour was shaped in all the right places Jennifer guessed this one was the woman directing the other two.

And she was pointing an assault rifle at her head.

"Go ahead, kid. Try it," Jennifer didn't need a translator to realise that this woman was giving her this one warning. Well…usually she didn't need to be told twice, but she had a mission to get on with. She had to get the professor out of here. She had to protect her mother. She had to warn the galaxy of what is coming for them. She had to help them prepare!

She had to shoot this person standing on her.

But before the asari had the chance to try anything, the armoured woman had decided to plant a slug in Jennifer's shoulder. The asari barely moved a muscle before the bullet even left the gun. Either this woman had decided to shoot her anyway, or she was faster than a speeding bullet, because her reaction time was off the scales._ Nobody_ was that fast!

So Jennifer voted for the former, as searing white hot pain assaulted her body as she yelled in agony, releasing the shotgun to grasp at the fresh wound. She'd been shot before, of course, but she couldn't imagine how she'd forgotten how much it hurt. Thirty-six years trapped on a frozen rock with only other asari could do that, she supposed. "Son of a bitch!" she cried out.

"You'll live," the woman told her gruffly before turning her head to regard her partner. "Hey, Theron," she called out, "are you dead?"

"Yes, I am," groaned the other, pulling himself back to his feet as he clutched his chest and took a deep, pained breath. "Armour caught the blast. If I hadn't raised my Barrier in time I might have been a goner, for sure."

"Hooray for biotics," said the woman. Jennifer knew sarcasm when she heard it, but even so it sounded rather good-natured, as if these two were close friends.

"You love me," coughed the other, awfully chipper for someone who took a shotgun blast to the chest. "You know you do."

"Yeah, yeah… Dax," she called out to no one, as if she were speaking through a comm. "How's it going on your end? Do you have the package?"

Jennifer knew the woman was listening to whoever was on the other end of the comm, so she waited for something – anything – to happen as she tried to stop the bleeding in her shoulder. What she wouldn't give for some medi-gel, right now. The pain was almost unbearable, but even so, a question swam through her mind amongst all the agony.

Why haven't they killed her yet?

"Unhand us!" she heard Pannor's voice yell behind her. She turned her head as much as she could to see the talmaran being carried over the shoulder of the largest of the three Valvoryen, her mother, unconscious over the other one. "Do you hear me, you biosynthetic bastard?! I said unhand us, right now!"

"You heard the man," said the woman. Moments later, the large Valvoryen man released his prisoners, and Jennifer felt the woman's boot leave her chest, allowing her to breathe properly. A mistake, as the fresh pain shooting from her shoulder was quick to remind the asari. With effort, she rose to stand on her feet, glaring at the woman as the man behind her pulled his gun on her.

"What happened to this one?" the woman asked the one named Dax as she nodded to the prone body of Liara.

"Had to knock her out, sir," he replied respectfully. "She kept trying to kill me. What _are _they, anyway?"

"A race older and more powerful than you will ever be," growled the talmaran.

The woman turned her attention towards Pannor, ignoring his outburst. "We went through a lot of trouble to find you, Professor Rass," she informed as she compressed her assault rifle and stowed it across the mag-lock on her back. She then removed her helmet, revealing the smooth, tan flesh of a handsome, oval face locking her gaze with mocha brown eyes. "Operative Neelan Taris, with the Valvoryen," she declared herself to the talmaran before she retrieved a spherical device from her belt. "Someone would like to speak with you, sir."

As she took in the sight of the woman's face, Jennifer realised that nothing else mattered to the asari when she stood here, watching the exchange between Pannor and this Neelan Taris, for as she looked at the sianesson woman she reminded herself that what she saw was utterly impossible_. It could not be. _She thought to herself in utter disbelief of what her eyes were showing her. _They were all dead! How are they here, now, in this cycle? And what did it mean for the others? Those left behind._

"By the Goddess," she swore aloud, eyes widening in shock, her pain all but forgotten as gazes turned toward her in puzzlement. She started to feel a little faint, a combination of blood loss and the sheer shock of the revelation that stood before her. "You people…" she began hesitantly, her soldier's will was commanding her body to stay upright. However, the asari knew she was fighting a losing battle.

"You people are…are really… By the Goddess, you're _human_?!"

**The End.**

* * *

_Author's note: Well, here we go! You've made it to the end! Sorry it was so long, there wasn't really any good places to break it up. But at least it's finished with. And what a cliffhanger, huh? Anyway, I'm going to be working on the rewrite of this story's sequel: Those Who Fight. I hope you'll join me for that one. As you've noticed with the final section of this chapter, Those Who Fight is set during the 'next' cycle of fifty-thousand years in the future, so expect a hell of a lot of original races and characters, though you'll see the odd original race and character, I promise. Also, in the interest of not infodumping (because I kind of hate that, even though I do it all the time), I plan on writing down several entries for Those Who Fight and publishing them on the Mass Effect Fanfiction wiki. Think of it as my 'codex' for the next cycle, if you will. _

_So anyway, before I leave you, I would like to thank you. Yes. **You**. The one staring at the screen reading these words. Thank you for taking the time to read this story. Whether you liked it or not, your support and the time you took to read this is very much appreciated. Thank you!_


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